(Business in Cameroon) - By March 31, 2021, Cameroon’s public debt was XAF10,574 billion, according to an update from the National Sinking Fund (CAA). Compared with the XAF10,334 billion recorded as of December 31, 2020, this is up by XAF240 billion.

"Compared with the volume as of December 31, 2020, this debt is up by 2.1%. 91.1% of it is the debt guaranteed by the central administration and 8.9% is the public corporations’ debt," CAA explains. The new debt represents 44.2% of GDP against 43.7% at end-2020.

 "The 2016 national accounting series base developed by the INS (National Institute of Statistics) was used in the calculation of the debt-to-GDP ratio. This improved the ratio compared with the calculation based on the old base (the 2005 base). By using the 2016 base, the debt-to-GDP ratio as of March 31, 2021, dropped by about 1.6 percentage points," CAA adds.

This means that the national institute of Statistics has revised national accounting calculation bases. Those calculations are now based on the structure of the Cameroonian economy in 2016, instead of the 2005 structure which was previously used. With the new calculation base, Cameroon’s GDP has increased, causing a reduction of the macroeconomic ratios using the GDP as a base.

For instance, as of December 31, 2020, the country’s debt was XAF10,334 billion, and based on the 2005 calculation method, the debt-to-GDP ratio was 46.9%. However, with the 2016 base, the debt-to-GDP ratio as of December 31, 2020, is 43.7%.

BRM