• Ghana’s public debt fell to about 61.8% of GDP in 2024, supported by fiscal consolidation and debt restructuring

• Inflation dropped sharply through 2025, moving from 23.8% at end-2024 to single digits, reflecting tighter monetary policy and easing price pressures

• Gross international reserves climbed to around $9bn at end-2024, strengthening external buffers under the IMF programme

Ghana’s three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) programme with the International Monetary Fund is beginning to translate into tangible macroeconomic improvements, with official data pointing to falling debt ratios, rapidly easing inflation and stronger external buffers.

According to Ghana’s Ministry of Finance, the country’s public debt-to-GDP ratio declined to 61.8% in 2024, down from 68.7% a year earlier. The improvement reflects a combination of fiscal consolidation measures, stronger nominal GDP growth and progress on domestic and external debt restructuring under the IMF-backed programme .

Debt sustainability is a central pillar of the IMF arrangement, which aims to restore confidence after Ghana defaulted on most of its external debt in 2022. Under the programme, the government committed to tightening public spending, strengthening revenue mobilization and reforming debt management practices. IMF projections show public debt continuing to fall to 56.6% of GDP in 2025, assuming the full implementation of agreed reforms and creditor participation in the restructuring process .

Inflation, which had surged during the height of Ghana’s economic crisis, has also eased markedly. Official figures show headline inflation stood at 23.8% at the end of 2024, before entering a steep disinflation path in 2025. Independent data indicate inflation slowed to 9.4% in September 2025, while Statistics Ghana recorded 6.3% year-on-year in November 2025, reflecting tighter monetary policy, a stabilizing cedi and improved food supply conditions .

The disinflation trend has allowed the IMF to assess Ghana’s monetary stance as broadly aligned with programme objectives, although risks remain from energy prices and exchange-rate volatility.

On the external front, Ghana’s buffers have strengthened significantly. The Ministry of Finance reports that gross international reserves rose to about $8.98bn at end-December 2024, equivalent to four months of import cover, up from roughly $6bn a year earlier . Reserve accumulation has been supported by improved export receipts, particularly gold and cocoa, alongside IMF disbursements and restored confidence in the foreign exchange market.

Reserves continued to build in the first half of 2025, with international estimates placing them above $11bn by end-June, extending import cover to nearly five months and reinforcing Ghana’s capacity to absorb external shocks .

The IMF programme also targets structural weaknesses that contributed to the crisis, including weaknesses in public financial management and state-owned enterprises. Reforms in energy pricing, revenue administration and expenditure control are designed to prevent a return to large fiscal deficits once the programme ends.

While IMF projections point to further improvements in debt, inflation and reserves over the medium term, Fund officials caution that outcomes remain conditional on sustained policy discipline, successful completion of debt restructuring and a stable global environment.

For now, Ghana’s latest macroeconomic indicators suggest the IMF-supported adjustment is gaining traction, offering early signs that the economy is moving away from crisis management towards gradual recovery.

By Cynthia Ebot Takang