The Africa Debt Monitor (ADM) provides a unique platform for sharing information on African central government debt and debt-management policies, practices and institutional arrangements. Developed by CABRI in consultation with African debt management offices, the ADM is country-owned* and provides the type of debt-related information that officials have expressed is a prerequisite for making informed decisions and promoting debt sustainability.
The ADM features multiple tools which facilitate peer-learning and exchange on debt management and provide investors and researchers convenient and user-friendly access to centralised information on government debt in Africa. These tools include (i) individual country debt profiles; (ii) cross-country comparison of debt management practices and procedures; (iii) individual country data tables; (iv) the Debt data explorer; and (v) ADM Analysis reports.
The ADM currently contains 20 African countries and will be updated annually, with the intent of adding additional countries each year.
First repository to go beyond debt position and debt outstanding, and identify the institutional arrangements, processes and policies which together reveal the ability of debt offices to manage debt, cash and associated risk.
Developed in consultation with 17 African debt managers to ensure that the content and format of the ADM reflects the priorities and information requirements of CABRI’s core constituency, i.e. ministries of finance.
All information is provided directly by participating countries, following which CABRI collates, validates, cleans and migrates the data. The ADM is therefore the first debt database to be fully country-owned.
Gaining deeper insight into their country’s debt profile and debt management, is a prerequisite for making deliberative policy decisions, mitigating against the fiscal risk associated with borrowing, and attracting investors.
Consolidated, accessible and visual overview of their own country’s debt statistics and management and how these compare with peer countries (consultation with debt managers revealed that learning about peers’ debt-management policies and practices is a core value-add of the ADM).
Access to information on debt-management practices – which partly reveal the ability of a country to service their obligations – is crucial. As the information on the ADM is provided by countries, the ADM complements countries’ efforts to communicate with investors and provides a one-stop shop for deciding between potential destinations for investment.
A consolidated source of central government debt data that has been developed with countries and thoroughly validated and cleaned, limiting the need to approach participating countries directly and one-by- one. Exportable data allows researchers to use the data for multiple projects and purposes.
The ADM offers multiple tools to learn about countries’ debt portfolios and management practices individually and comparatively. Download the brochure to learn more.
*The content of the ADM is provided to CABRI directly by participating countries’ debt management offices through completion of an Excel-based survey. This information is cleaned, cross-checked and verified with the respondent. Where queries on debt categories remain outstanding, a note shows on the Debt data explorer.
