Burundi Sovereign Debt Market Overview – 2025 Edition
🇧🇮 Burundi Sovereign Debt Market Overview – 2025 Edition
Published by Impala Market
📌 Executive Snapshot
Total Public Debt: BIF 6.2 trillion (~USD 2.1 billion)
Debt-to-GDP Ratio: ~66%
Debt Composition: ~84% domestic, ~16% external
Outlook: Burundi’s debt portfolio is heavily skewed toward domestic borrowing, with limited access to international markets. Structural reforms are underway to strengthen fiscal management and improve market transparency.
🔍 1. Debt Market Structure
1.1 Total Public Debt Profile
Domestic Debt: BIF 5.2 trillion
External Debt: BIF 1.0 trillion
Debt Service-to-Revenue Ratio: ~45–50%
Source: Ministry of Finance – Burundi
1.2 Legal & Institutional Framework
Debt managed by the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and Economic Planning
Central Bank of Burundi (BRB) handles auctions and settlement
Public debt governed by the Organic Law on Public Finance Management (2020)
🏦 2. Domestic Debt Instruments
Instrument Currency Maturity Frequency Notes Treasury Bills BIF 13, 26, 52 weeks Weekly Discount instruments Treasury Bonds BIF 2–7 years Periodic Fixed coupon, limited issuance
Domestic debt largely non-tradable beyond primary auction
Held mainly by state-owned banks and the BRB
🌍 3. External Sovereign Debt
Multilateral: World Bank (IDA), IMF, AfDB
Bilateral: China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait
No Eurobond or international market participation
External debt is largely concessional
👥 4. Investor Base
Domestic:
State-owned banks and the Central Bank of Burundi
Pension funds and insurance companies (limited)
Foreign:
Practically no foreign participation in the domestic debt market
Foreign aid flows and concessional loans dominate external funding
🔁 5. Secondary and OTC Market
Very limited secondary market activity
No dedicated bond exchange or trading platform
Instruments are held to maturity; pricing information is not public
📊 6. Recent Trends
Short-term T-Bill issuance dominant
Rising domestic interest rates due to inflation and monetary tightening
Ongoing fiscal consolidation under IMF-supported programs
Introduction of digital payment systems for government operations
⚠️ 7. Risk Assessment
Debt Sustainability: Moderate-to-high risk (IMF DSA 2023)
Liquidity Risk: High due to narrow investor base
Market Risk: Lack of transparency and market depth
✅ 8. Opportunities & Reforms
Introduce regular reporting and publication of debt statistics
Explore development of a retail bond market
Deepen market access through banking sector reforms
Strengthen coordination between BRB and MoF on public finance strategy
📎 9. Annexes
Credit Ratings: Not rated by international agencies as of 2025
📬 For Investors & Researchers
Burundi remains a shallow but evolving debt market. While investor access is constrained, ongoing macroeconomic and governance reforms may unlock future opportunities in debt transparency, concessional finance, and digital innovation.
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