To attain the maximum goal of sustainable economic development, the government needs a substantial quantity of capital finance via investment expenses on infrastructural and productive capability progress. Lack of sufficient capital due to low savings, majority of developing countries seek to borrow from an outside source to bridge the resource gap. East African country's external debt outline has augmented over the decade to attain economic growth but this has terminated to low economic performance as demonstrated by high unemployment, high inflation, and elevation of the poverty rate. This has informed the requirement to conduct the present study to examine the effect of external debt on economic growth in East Africa. Utilizing ARDL bound testing approach and fixed-effect model for the period 2011-2019. Empirical results from ARDL bound testing approach fail to detect a long-term relationship between variables. However, the fixed-effect model indicates a negative and insignificant impact of exterior obligation on economic progress. An export variable was insignificant. While labor force and gross capital formation have a positive and statistically significant effect on economic growth. Therefore, the negative influence is insufficient of proper management for the funds borrowed from an external source that utilized unproductive projects. Subsequently, the administration ought accurately to apportion its outside debt for industrious investment and sustain an effective and well-organized obligation management policy.

public external debt, export, labor force, gross capital formation, economic growth, ARDL, fixed effect model