IMF Report: Mauritius Must Fix 5-Year Debt Surge from 64% to 86%

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on Mauritius to immediately strengthen transparency and statistical standards in its public debt reporting, an urgent move coming after the island nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio surged by 22 percentage points in five years.

The IMF’s technical assistance report, made public this month, recommends broadening the scope of public sector debt reports and enhancing the clarity of compilation methods. This intervention follows a separate IMF viability analysis from June, which classified Mauritius as being at high risk of sovereign crisis.

Debt Crisis Looms

The alarming increase in public debt saw the ratio rise from 64% to 86% of GDP between December 2019 and June 2025.

This dramatic 22-point progression, largely a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, provides the sensitive backdrop for the new report.

The technical evaluation, requested by Mauritian authorities, assesses the quality of the nation’s debt statistics and identifies several areas for improvement to better align national practices with international statistical norms.

Structural Weakness Identified

A major structural weakness highlighted in the report is the operational constraints within the Public Debt Management Unit (PDMU).

• The PDMU, responsible for both debt management and statistical reporting, currently operates with only eight employees.
• The IMF warns this staffing level poses a risk to the continuity of activities and limits the administration’s capacity to develop and enhance existing reports, especially given the scale of the debt challenge.

Key Recommendations for Reform

While the IMF mission, which visited from September 4 to 12, 2025, noted that public debt statistics are generally accurate, consistent, and regularly updated—with the island adhering to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS)—significant technical gaps remain.

Key recommendations include:

• Publication of detailed information on the methods and assumptions used to compile debt tables.
• Introduction of an advance publication calendar to give data users greater visibility.
• Correct application of conversion rules for foreign currency debt, which must use the average mid-market rate on the reference date.

The IMF stresses that improving public debt statistics is essential for strengthening macroeconomic surveillance, informing economic policy decisions, and fostering better understanding of financial risks by markets, international partners, and the public.

For Mauritius, now facing a high-risk classification, improved transparency is no longer a mere administrative matter; it has become an issue of confidence for investors and international institutions.

Source: Defi Media