Private lenders will make $4.4 billion (CFA2,500 billion) profit if they are paid in full by Senegal. The new calculations by FRAPP and Debt Justice show this is 44% more profit than if creditors had lent to the US government instead.[1]
Senegal is in discussions with lenders and international organisations about how the government will pay its debt to external lenders. The figures reveal the true beneficiaries of debts being paid in full will be those who lent at high interest or bought debt cheaply. Around $13 billion of Senegalese government debt is estimated to have been hidden by the previous government.[2]
Dr. Ndongo Samba Sylla, International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs) Africa Head of Research and Policy said:
“The international monetary and financial order places an unfair economic burden on the governments and the peoples of the South. Senegal is the last case in point, as this report by Debt Justice demonstrates. High borrowing costs, while creating huge profits for Senegal’s bondholders, come at the expense of public service provisioning and economic transformation. Without significant foreign debt cancellations, Senegal will continue to be trapped in an unsustainable financial trajectory compounded by austerity and privatisation policies. Therefore, we should all amplify the message of this report and mobilise accordingly. “
Abdoulaye Seck, FRAPP’s Delegate for Economic Affairs said:
“The findings of this study confirm that the international financial system unfairly imposes an increased risk premium on Senegal, to the benefit of creditors, following the revelation of the outgoing regime’s financial scandal between 2019 and 2024. Today, IMF is adopting a posture of defending the interests of creditors and is thus complicit in this dynamic, relegating to the background the vital needs of populations already deeply affected by decades of neoliberal policies. The situation in Senegal should serve as a catalyst for a united front of countries of the Global South to cancel illegal, illegitimate and odious debts and to impose a world order centered on humanity rather than profit.”
Jerome Phelps, Head of Advocacy at Debt Justice, said:
“Lenders are making massive profits from Senegal’s high interest hidden debts, while the costs fall on the people of Senegal. What the country needs is fast and sufficient debt cancellation to enable economic recovery and meet the needs of the people. If we are to avoid more hidden debt scandals in future, financial centres such as the UK need to implement new rules to require lenders to disclose the details of all their loans to governments when they are given.”
The Senegalese government owes $26.5 billion (CFA15,200 billion) in external debt. Of this, 41% is owed to private creditors, 40% to multilateral creditors and 19% to other governments. However, the interest rates are higher and maturities shorter on the debt to private lenders. This means that in 2026 62% of external debt payments (principal and interest) are to private lenders.
For Senegal’s foreign currency bonds, the profit comes from either the high interest rate, or the fact traders have been buying the debt at well below face value. Senegal’s bonds can currently be bought for 52 cents to 68 cents for every $1 owed. For other debts to private creditors, the profit comes from the high interest rates, estimated to average 7.2%.
All of Senegal’s foreign currency bonds are governed by English law. If Senegal stops paying, holders of the debts including vulture funds could sue Senegal in the UK. Debt Justice is calling for the UK to update a 2010 law, so that countries cannot be sued while negotiating debt relief, or for more than other creditors have agreed to be paid.[3]
Debt Justice has also called for a law to prevent a creditor suing if the loan was not publicly disclosed when it was first given.[4]
FRAPP is a stakeholder in the initiative for a citizen audit of Senegalese debt, aimed at shedding light on loan agreements and formulating recommendations in favor of transparency and justice.[5]
Methodology
| Scenario | Profit rate, % of amount lent | Profit, $ | Profit, CFA |
| Non-bond private creditors | 36% | $2,162 million | CFA1234 billion |
| Central estimate for bonds | 54% | $2,194 million | CFA1249 billion |
| Total | 44% | $4,350 million | CFA2483 billion |
FRAPP and Debt Justice calculated the potential profit lenders will make from debts outstanding at end-2024. The profit is how much more bondholders would make compared to if they had lent the same amount to the US government over the same period, if the loans continue to be paid in full.
The profit is over –and above what lenders would have got if they had lent to the US government.
For lenders who bought bonds at issuance or lent directly to Senegal and still hold the debt, the profit comes from the higher interest rate charged than on loans to the US government over the same period.
For buyers of bonds at lower prices, the profit comes both from the higher interest, and the fact they were bought at a lower price than face value, so will be repaid significantly more when the bond matures.
For the central profit estimate for bonds, we assume half of current bonds were bought when the bonds were first issued, and have been held by the same owners ever since. And we assume the other half have been bought at either:
- the average price of the bonds between April 2020, when the Covid pandemic began, and March 2026, for the two bonds issued before April 2020
- the average price since issuance and March 2026, for the three bonds issued since April 2020
It is unrealistic to think that all bonds currently owned were bought at these lower prices. But it is equally unrealistic to think that all bonds have been held since issuance. Because of the lack of transparency with bond markets, we do not know the actual proportion and the price paid by any particular holder of the debt. We do know that current holders of the bonds, if they are paid in full, will make somewhere between 42% (profit at issuance) and 92% (profit at March 2026 prices) more profit than if they had lent to the US government. An estimation of 54% profit therefore seems reasonable.
All the calculations are in a spreadsheet at: https://debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Senegal-private-sector-profit_04.26.xlsx
Notes
Debt Justice (formerly Jubilee Debt Campaign) is a UK charity working to end poverty caused by unjust debt through education, research and campaigning: https://debtjustice.org.uk/
FRAPP is a citizens’ organization that fights against imperialism in all its forms, defends the rights and interests of peoples, claims the sovereignty of nations and forges unity and internationalist solidarity to build a just and free society. Mail: snfrapp@gmail.com
[1] See the briefing ‘Profiting from debt’ by FRAPP and Debt Justice at https://debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Senegal-private-creditor-profit_04.26.pdf
[3] See https://debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/The-lower-income-country-debt-crisis.pdf
[4] See https://debtjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Hidden-billions_07.23.pdf
[5] https://www.cadtm.org/Pour-un-audit-citoyen-de-la-dette-23767