The international credit rating agency Fitch maintained the ” B+ ‘’ rating assigned to the Republic of Benin, ‘‘with a stable outlook ’’. According to the communiqué of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, of 10 October 2022, this decision attests to the resilience of the country in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the quality of its economic fundamentals, despite a deteriorated overall macroeconomic context.
Benin continues to make a name for itself in the area of economic governance. The international credit rating agency Fitch welcomed the growth prospects of the Beninese economy, in a sound fiscal framework marked by moderate debt and a controlled deficit. The international credit rating agency acknowledges the dynamism of the Beninese economy and its marked rebound in 2021, at 7.2%, followed by growth of 5.5% in 2022. The agency highlights the resilience of the economy despite external shocks and forecasts an average growth of 6% over 2023-2024, supported by the Government’s Action Programme. Fitch also highlights Benin’s moderate exposure to current inflationary pressures, due to the quality of harvests and support measures introduced by the government to limit the impact of rising prices on the population. The level of inflation thus remained contained in 2022, standing at 1.3% between January and August. The agency also welcomes the innovative program concluded with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which helps to cover the government’s financing needs and supports the return to a fiscal consolidation trajectory, anticipated as early as 2022. The agency anticipates a gradual increase in government revenues, driven by the ongoing reform agenda and strong economic growth. The budgetary balance should thus converge in 2024 towards the Community standard of -3.0%. Finally, Fitch acknowledges the level of public debt contained in Benin, which the agency estimates at 49.8% of GDP in 2021, a level lower than countries with equivalent ratings, and significantly lower than the WAEMU Community standard. The international financial rating agency also expects a decrease in Benin’s public debt ratio from 2024, driven by Benin’s fiscal performance and the dynamism of growth, according to the press release of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
