[REVISION HISTORY]

Senegal sovereign credit rating downgrade and debt crisis

Updated 5 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-07 11:15 UTC → 2026-09-08 13:12 UTC · added ~~removed~~

On August 28, 2026, Moody’s downgraded Senegal’s sovereign credit rating from Caa1 to Caa2, maintaining a negative outlook due to concerns over debt sustainability, rising interest costs, and refinancing pressures. While the CFA franc helped maintain low inflation—estimated at 1.4% in 2025—it has limited the government’s ability to use monetary policy to adjust to fiscal shocks. Political reactions have been polarized. Human rights defender Seydi Gassama attributed the crisis to approximately $7 billion in unrecorded commitments made under the Macky Sall administration between 2019 and 2024. Conversely, opposition leader Thierno Alassane Sall blamed the downgrade on institutional instability and political rivalries within the current government. By early September 2026, the financial situation intensified as S&P Global Ratings downgraded Senegal’s foreign currency debt to ‘CC’ and its long-term local-currency rating from ‘CCC+’ to ‘CCC’, both with a negative outlook. S&P warned that a default or distressed debt exchange is ‘extremely likely’ following the announcement of the Senegal Debt Treatment Plan (PTDS), which the agency views as a restructuring operation. This move follows the discovery of billions in undisclosed debt from the previous administration and is expected to result in losses for foreign-currency creditors through reduced principal, lower interest, or altered terms. To mitigate the crisis, Senegal has secured a $2.2 billion, 36-month lending programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Credit Facility to stabilize public finances. ~~However, S&P suggests this financing may not immediately mitigate external debt risks, noting that public debt reached 132% of GDP at~~ While the ~~end of 2024. In response to perceived bias from international agencies,~~ government maintains the ~~African Union has announced~~ IMF deal safeguards national interests and is not a traditional restructuring, Prime Minister Al Aminou Lô defended the ~~launch of~~ negotiations, stating the ~~African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) in Mauritius for October 7.~~ country must restore debt viability to avoid a more severe crisis. Despite market volatility, the government indicated it intends to honor an upcoming Eurobond coupon payment on September 13.

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