Accra:Angola's public debt has significantly decreased from 115.9% to 51.2% of Gross Domestic Product between 2020 and 2026, as stated by President Joao Lourenço.
According to Angola Press News Agency, President Lourenço, in his State of the Nation address during the opening of the final legislative session of Parliament, emphasized that this debt reduction places Angola safely within legal limits. This decrease has alleviated fiscal pressure on interest payments, allowing for more public resources to be allocated to essential social services.
Despite these macroeconomic advancements, President Lourenço acknowledged the persistence of structural challenges, particularly the high level of economic informality. He noted that ongoing reforms are focused on enhancing domestic revenue collection, improving the quality of public spending, and increasing financial inclusion.
The president credited this fiscal turnaround to substantial public finance reorganizations. These efforts include tackling historical imbalances, revising subsidy policies, optimizing debt management, adjusting the exchange rate regime, and strengthening state accounts.
He also highlighted that Angola's economy has rebounded after a deep recession caused by external shocks, returning to growth in 2021 with a real GDP expansion of 3% for the 2025 fiscal year. The momentum continued to accelerate in the first quarter of 2026, with GDP expanding by 5.3%, driven by a 6.2% growth rate in the non-oil sector. While the economy remains heavily influenced by the oil and gas sectors, which have faced modest growth, the expansion of non-oil industries is successfully contributing to national diversification.
