• Ghana’s public debt drops to 44.9% of GDP by July 2025

• Decline beats IMF, Fitch forecasts amid stronger reserves, growth

• Debt fall follows IMF-backed reforms, creditor deal, and cedi gains

Ghana's total public debt fell to 44.9% of GDP by the end of July 2025, according to figures released by the central bank following its 126th Monetary Policy Committee meeting on September 17.

This level represents a sharp drop from 61.8% in December 2024 and is well below the projections of international partners. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had anticipated a debt-to-GDP ratio of 66% for 2025, while Fitch Ratings still estimated it at 60% in its latest review in June.

The improvement reflects Accra's efforts to restore public finances and gradually reduce a debt that had peaked at 93% of GDP in 2022, the year the country defaulted. It comes amid a more favorable economic environment, marked by a strengthening of foreign exchange reserves, which reached $10.7 billion in August, and 6.3% growth in the second quarter of 2025.

"On the back of the strong external sector performance and increased reserve accumulation, the cedi strengthened against the major trading currencies in the year to July 2025. Subsequently, the cedi came under some demand pressure, bringing the cumulative appreciation through 12 September 2025 to 21.0 percent against the US dollar," the central bank noted.

Since May 2023, Ghana has been implementing an IMF-supported reform program aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability. As part of this effort, the country reached a final agreement with its official creditors on external debt restructuring on Jan. 29, 2025. These advances led Fitch Ratings to upgrade Ghana's sovereign rating to B- with a stable outlook in June.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou