Guinea-Bissau debt reaches 76.9% of GDP
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on O Democrata
Illustrative image · Werner Pfennig · Pexels · Licence PexelsPublic debt in Guinea-Bissau has reached 76.9% of GDP, while the tax burden remains limited to 9.1%, Prime Minister Ilídio Vieira Té said. Growth is expected to reach 5.2% in 2026 and 5.8% in 2027, according to O Democrata, which also reported the IMF’s recommendations on revenue and the financial sector.
Bissau-Guinean Prime Minister Ilídio Vieira Té acknowledged on Tuesday 3 November that public debt had reached 76.9% of gross domestic product. He said the tax burden, limited to 9.1%, was insufficient to finance the state’s needs, during a press conference held in Bissau with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), O Democrata reported.
Ilídio Vieira Té called for greater fiscal discipline, the modernisation of the tax and customs administration, transparency in public management and the mobilisation of concessional financing. He nevertheless asked that budgetary rigour should not compromise essential services or priority investments.
Gross domestic product is expected to grow by 5.2% in 2026 and 5.8% in 2027. The budget deficit, including grants, is expected to fall from 7% in 2025 to 4.2% in 2026 and then to 2.8% in 2027, according to forecasts presented at the conference.
The IMF mission is in Bissau to complete the latest review of the economic and financial programme launched in 2023 and negotiate a new agreement. Its head, Niko Hobdari, said inflation had fallen to 0.7% and recommended strengthening tax revenues and the financial sector.
The meeting follows the Bissau-Guinean prime minister’s participation in the IMF annual meetings in Bangkok on 12 October. It also comes amid an assessment of debts owed to court clerks, announced on 24 October.
