Zambia's Annual External Debt Service Falls To US$900 Million, Treasury Says

LUSAKA, 28 August 2026: Zambia's annual external debt-service payments are projected to fall to about US$900 million from 2026, Secretary to the Treasury Felix Nkulukusa says, following the country's debt restructuring. Speaking to Diamond TV Online, Nkulukusa said the figure is significantly lower than the roughly US$2.6 billion a year Zambia would have been required to pay without the restructuring. He said the reduction has eased pressure on government finances and created fiscal space for investment in key sectors. Nkulukusa said that before the restructuring, nearly K70 out of every K100 collected in domestic revenue was required for external debt service. He said that figure has now fallen to approximately K15 out of every K100, freeing more government revenue for education, health, agriculture, social protection and infrastructure. He said the restructuring, combined with broader economic reforms, has also contributed to improved macroeconomic stability. Inflation has returned to the Bank of Zambia's six to eight percent target range, he said, while the fiscal deficit has declined from nine percent of GDP in 2021 to 3.8 percent in 2025. International reserves have risen from about US$3 billion in 2021 to US$6.5 billion by June 2026, he said. Nkulukusa said Zambia must now protect the gains made through debt restructuring by maintaining fiscal discipline, pursuing prudent borrowing and directing resources towards productive investment. He said the ultimate objective is to ensure the breathing space created by lower debt-service obligations translates into more jobs, higher incomes, increased productivity and improved livelihoods for Zambians. The Ministry of Finance and National Planning set out similar figures in July, when it said the debt restructuring and a related Eurobond refinancing were together expected to keep more than US$11.5 billion in Zambia's economy over five years, and that annual external debt payments would fall from about US$2.6 billio