Top 10 African Countries with the Highest Domestic Bond Market Participation

In Summary:

• Domestic bond markets across Africa are deepening, driven by pension reforms, insurance sector growth, and stronger local currency issuance that reduce reliance on external borrowing.
• Countries with active participation benefit from improved fiscal stability, better debt maturity profiles, and lower exposure to foreign exchange risk.
• Strong regulatory frameworks and credible central banks play a key role in attracting banks, pension funds, and retail investors into government bond markets.
• Expanding domestic bond participation supports infrastructure financing, financial inclusion, and long-term economic resilience across the continent.

Deep Dive!!

Thursday, 18 December 2025 – Africa’s domestic bond markets have become increasingly important pillars of economic stability, offering governments a reliable source of local financing while deepening financial inclusion and reducing exposure to foreign exchange risk. In recent years, reforms in market infrastructure, pension systems, and monetary policy frameworks have helped expand local participation, drawing in banks, pension funds, insurance firms, and retail investors. By 2024 and 2025, several African countries recorded notable growth in domestic bond holdings, reflecting stronger confidence in local currencies and improved debt management practices.

This article ranks the top 10 African countries with the highest levels of domestic bond market participation, based on verified data from central banks, the IMF, World Bank, and regional financial reports. Beyond headline figures, it examines why these markets have thrived, the role of institutional investors, and how deep domestic participation is reshaping fiscal resilience, capital market development, and long-term economic planning across the continent.

10. Mauritius

Mauritius runs a compact but technically deep domestic debt market where the government issues benchmark tenors and the Stock Exchange of Mauritius lists debt instruments for institutional and retail investors. Regular auctions, a functioning secondary trading platform, and stable auction outcomes in 2024–2025 show steady domestic investor participation, with pension funds and banks active holders of government paper. The Bank of Mauritius posts auction results and yield curves that underline market continuity rather than scale.

The island’s role is more structural than large-scale: it serves as a reliable domestic funding channel and a regional financial centre that channels institutional capital into fixed income instruments. That combination of sound regulation, routine issuance and active domestic demand places Mauritius on the continental list even though its absolute market size is small relative to North Africa and major Sub-Saharan markets.

9. Botswana

Botswana’s government securities programme shows regular auctioning and steady investor appetite through 2025, with Treasury notes and bonds used to manage short- and medium-term financing needs. The Bank of Botswana publishes government-securities auction schedules and allotment data, and inclusion of Botswana government bonds in initiatives such as the AfDB’s African Bond Index confirms market recognition. Institutional investors, banks and insurance companies, form the core domestic demand base.

The market’s strength is its policy credibility and predictable issuance calendar, which supports local participation without crowding out private credit. Botswana’s relatively high domestic yields during 2025 attracted local investors, and the country’s small but liquid sovereign curve helps the treasury manage cash needs while giving institutional investors safe countable assets.

8. Tunisia

Tunisia’s domestic bond market saw meaningful activity in 2024–2025, with benchmark treasury bills and longer-dated bonds auctioned regularly and a domestic investor base that includes banks and pension schemes. Domestic issuance has been an essential tool while external financing was constrained; bond listings and secondary trade data show local participation even as the government navigates fiscal financing pressures. Market trackers and bond databases record frequent Tunisian issuance across short and medium tenors in 2025.

That said, Tunisia’s market is shaped by episodic fiscal stress and occasional recourse to direct central-bank financing; investors watch yield signals closely. Where on-market auctions function well, domestic participation is high, but the market’s health remains sensitive to broader fiscal arrangements and reforms.

7. Côte d’Ivoire (BRVM Region)

Côte d’Ivoire is a central issuer within the WAEMU/BRVM regional capital-market system; regular BAT (Bons Assimilables du Trésor) and regional bond offerings draw strong bids from local banks, pension funds and regional investors. 2024–2025 saw large, often oversubscribed public offerings managed through the BRVM auction calendar, and Abidjan’s role as the WAEMU financing hub creates broad institutional participation inside the currency union.

The regional model concentrates domestic bond demand across several Francophone economies, so Côte d’Ivoire’s market benefits from pooled investor depth and recurring issuance. Strong recent auctions and a growing domestic investor base make the country a notable example of active domestic participation in West Africa’s bond markets.

6. Kenya

Kenya’s government-securities market is among the continent’s most dynamic: regular T-bill and Treasury-bond auctions draw heavy participation from banks, pension funds and money-market funds, and 2024–2025 auction results showed robust bid cover ratios on key tenors. The Central Bank of Kenya publishes weekly auction and secondary-market data that document not just issuance but rising turnover and improved liquidity in government paper, reflecting growing retail and institutional engagement.

Kenya has also shifted to longer average maturities and greater reliance on domestic bonds as part of debt management strategy, increasing the market’s depth. That combination of frequent, well-subscribed auctions, rising secondary turnover and a growing institutional investor base places Kenya firmly among Africa’s most active domestic bond markets.

5. Morocco

Bank Al-Maghrib and market statistics show Morocco’s domestic sovereign curve is well established, with active issuance across short and long tenors and strong participation from banks, insurance companies and pension funds. Morocco’s 2024–2025 bond activity has been accompanied by falling sovereign spreads and improved macro indicators that raised local investor confidence, supporting healthy auction results and secondary trading. The central bank provides reference yields and a transparent market framework that sustains participation.

A developed corporate bond segment and growing green bond issuance complement sovereign paper, giving domestic investors a wider fixed-income menu. Those features help explain Morocco’s relatively high domestic participation compared with many peers in North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

4. Nigeria

Nigeria operates one of Africa’s largest domestic debt markets by activity: the Debt Management Office (DMO) runs frequent FGN bond and treasury-bill auctions that attract sizable bids from commercial banks, pension administrators and fund managers. Domestic bond issuance remains central to financing fiscal needs while deepening yields and yielding active secondary trading on the FMDQ and exchange platforms. Regular publication of benchmark bond schedules and FGN bond updates underscores heavy domestic market participation in 2024–2025.

Nigeria’s market is notable for size, liquidity in benchmark tenors, and broad institutional demand from a large banking sector and mandatory pension funds, which anchor domestic absorption of government debt. Those forces make Nigeria a high-participation domestic market even amid occasional volatility in yields and macro indicators.

3. Egypt

Egypt’s domestic bond market expanded markedly in 2024–2025 as the Treasury and CBE stepped up local-currency issuance to manage maturities and on-budget financing needs. The Central Bank of Egypt publishes frequent T-bill and government bond auctions and large quarterly issuance plans; 2025 volumes included multi-tranche domestic offerings as authorities balanced FX pressures with local funding. IMF programme engagement and resumed financing flows also helped underpin local investor participation in sovereign paper.

The domestic investor base, local banks, insurers and a growing mutual-fund industry, took the bulk of issuance, and active secondary trading on local platforms improved price discovery. Egypt’s combination of sovereign programme scale and strong domestic subscription levels places it high on the participation ranking.

2. Ghana

Ghana’s domestic bond market in 2025 showed one of the most visible recoveries on the continent after the 2022–2023 crisis and debt restructuring. Bank of Ghana and treasury publications document resumed sovereign issuance and strong domestic bids, supported by policy measures including a state-run gold trading vehicle and improved macro indicators that restored investor confidence. The domestic investor base, banks, pension schemes and local funds, re-entered auctions with sizable demand, prompting sharp domestic participation growth through 2025.

Ghana’s experience illustrates how credible restructuring and clearer fiscal outlooks can unlock domestic investor appetite for sovereign paper; the speed and scale of the 2025 rebound put Ghana near the top of African domestic-participation movers for the year.

1. South Africa

South Africa’s domestic bond market remains the continent’s largest and most liquid, with a broad sovereign curve, active corporate issuance, and deep participation by banks, institutional investors and a sizeable domestic asset-management industry. Market trackers estimate South Africa’s bond market volume and issuance activity dwarf other African markets; central-bank and SARB reviews document consistent domestic demand across tenors and a functioning secondary market that supports price discovery and liquidity. Non-resident flows vary, but domestic investor participation remains the bedrock of the market.

The country’s financial infrastructure, established exchanges, repo markets, active primary-dealer systems and institutional investor depth, makes it the natural centre for domestic fixed-income activity in Africa. For scale, liquidity and the diversity of domestic participants absorbing sovereign and corporate supply, South Africa tops the 2025 ranking.

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