Senegal Secures $2.2 Billion IMF Deal

DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new $2.2 billion, 36-month financing programme aimed at supporting economic and financial reforms through 2026 to 2029.

The agreement comes after the IMF suspended a previous $1.8 billion programme in 2024 following the discovery of billions of dollars in previously undisclosed public debt.

The new programme is designed to support Senegal’s reform agenda while addressing concerns over the country’s fiscal reporting and debt management.

However, the IMF said Senegal would need to take “decisive corrective measures” as part of efforts to secure a waiver related to the misreporting of financial data. The staff-level agreement must still be approved by the IMF’s Executive Board before the funds can be released.

The debt crisis emerged after Senegal’s current government, which came to power following an opposition victory in 2024, accused the administration of former president Macky Sall of understating the country’s budget deficit and public debt.

An IMF assessment found that Senegal’s 2023 budget deficit had reached 12.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), compared with the 4.9 percent previously reported by the former government.

Senegal’s debt burden has since remained a major concern. The IMF estimated total public-sector debt at 132 percent of GDP at the end of 2024, placing the West African country among the most heavily indebted nations in sub-Saharan Africa.

There have, however, been signs of fiscal improvement. The country’s overall fiscal deficit fell from 13.4 percent of GDP in 2024 to 6.4 percent in 2025, largely as a result of measures to rationalise government spending, according to the IMF.

Senegal has continued to finance much of its borrowing through regional bond markets, although this has come at a higher cost than financing from international financial institutions, development banks and governments.