South Africa Debt Service Ratio (Private Sector)

## What this measures

The share of income that South Africa's households and non-financial companies spend on interest and principal payments.

## Why it matters

It captures debt burdens through both the amount of debt and the interest rate on it, and rises before many credit stresses.

## How to read it

It was 8.3% in the first quarter of 2026, close to its low of 7.0% in 2021.

## What it does not say

It is an estimate built on average maturities and rates; it does not show which borrowers are stretched.

## Source

Bank for International Settlements, Debt service ratios, private non-financial sector, series `WS_DSR/Q.ZA.P` (stats.bis.org). Palanor reads the full series every day. Source: BIS. Used under the BIS terms for statistics: reuse is unrestricted with the BIS cited as the source, and the statistics carry no additional charge in Palanor.