The Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) latest summary of economic and financial data, released for September 2025, has revealed that Ghana’s public debt stock rose by GH¢15.8 billion in July 2025, bringing the overall debt to GH¢628.8 billion, which is equivalent to $59.9 billion.
According to the report, the rise is equal to 44.9% of the country’s total economic output. This follows three consecutive months of declines and is partly attributed to the earlier appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi. Ghana recorded GH¢613 billion in June and GH¢769.4 billion in March.
The fluctuations in the figures during that period were largely influenced by changes in the exchange rate of the cedi.
Ghana’s external debt stayed mostly unchanged in July at $29.0 billion. However, domestic debt climbed to GH¢323.7 billion, or 23.1% of GDP, from GH¢312.7 billion in the previous month.
The Bank of Ghana also announced a 6.3% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the second quarter of 2025. While acknowledging global financial pressures at the 126th Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on September 15, BoG Governor Johnson Pandit Asiama stated that Ghana has seen a 1.0% increase in GDP from the previous 5.3% in the first quarter.
“Ghana’s recovery is gaining momentum even as the global environment remains uncertain. Worldwide, growth is easing, and financial conditions are still tight amid trade tensions and geopolitical risks; yet domestically, improved fundamentals have strengthened confidence in our outlook.
“Real activity has firmed. Provisional data show GDP growth accelerated to 6.3 percent in Q2 2025, led by services and agriculture, with non-oil GDP expanding by 7.8 percent,” Dr. Asiama stated.
According to him, some short-term economic measurements, also known as high-frequency indicators, show that the economy is still growing. Among these, the Bank of Ghana’s Composite Index of Economic Activity was 6.1% higher in July than a year earlier.
“High-frequency indicators confirm this momentum: the Bank’s Composite Index of Economic Activity was up 6.1 percent year-on-year in July, and recent PMI readings alongside our business and consumer surveys point to improving sentiment,” he added.
In his update, he also touched on inflation, stating that it fell from 12.1% in July to 11.5% in August, marking a 0.6 percentage point drop in just one month, the eighth consecutive month of decline, and the lowest inflation rate since October 2021. He added that, even though there was a decline in remittance inflows, the cedi remains one of the strongest-performing currencies globally.
“On the price front, headline inflation fell further to 11.5 percent in August, its lowest since October 2021, supported by a tight monetary stance, fiscal consolidation, and better food supplies; core measures and expectations continue to re-anchor. External buffers have strengthened. For the first eight months of the year, Ghana recorded a trade surplus of US$6.2 billion, underpinned by robust gold exports and higher cocoa receipts. Gross international reserves stood at US$10.7 billion in August, covering about 4½ months of imports. Despite seasonal pressures and a moderation in remittance inflows in recent weeks, the cedi remains among the strongest currencies globally year-to-date, appreciating by about 21 per cent as of September 12.
“It now ranks alongside high performers such as the Russian ruble, Swedish krona, Norwegian krone, Swiss franc, Euro, and British pound. This outperformance reflects prudent monetary policy, effective liquidity management, fiscal consolidation, and increased foreign exchange inflows,” he stressed.
The Bank of Ghana in late July projected that inflation was likely to decline further and fall within the medium-term target range of 6 to 10 percent during the third quarter of 2025, ahead of earlier expectations.
According to a statement released by the Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Asiama, on July 30, 2025, macroeconomic conditions had significantly improved, inflation expectations were broadly anchored, external buffers were strengthened, and confidence in the economy was returning.
“The July forecast also shows that headline inflation is expected to decline further in the third quarter of 2025 and trend within the medium-term target of 8±2 percent by the end of 2025, earlier than initial projections,” the statement indicated.
It further explained that the external sector outlook was positive, anchored on favourable commodity prices and improved remittance inflows, despite the resumption of external debt service.
The statement added that the cedi has further strengthened against major trading currencies on the back of strong external sector performance and increased reserve accumulation.
Meanwhile, the BoG cautioned that there are upside risks to the inflation outlook, including potential supply chain challenges from global trade tensions and upward adjustments in utility tariffs. This notwithstanding, the central bank maintained that the impact of these risks on inflation is expected to be offset by an appropriately tight monetary policy stance and continued fiscal consolidation.
The IMF has projected a decrease in global inflation while predicting slower 2025 economic growth in the U.S. and other regions. The Bretton Woods institution attributed this anticipated improvement to the debt restructuring programme implemented by the previous government, noting its positive impact in placing the country on a path toward debt sustainability.
During the IMF press briefing held on September 11 in Washington, D.C., Director of Communications Julie Kozack responded to a journalist’s question on Ghana’s debt sustainability and the impact of the restructuring agreement. She explained that Ghana’s “debt service indicators” have improved significantly because of the restructuring.
According to her, this development provides the country with greater space to recover economically and channel resources into key investments. “The recent restructuring agreement has significantly improved debt service indicators for Ghana, and that has created more space for economic recovery and also much-needed investments in the economy,” she stated.
Kozack added that IMF research indicates Ghana’s public debt will decline from 82% of GDP in 2022 to around 60% in 2025, describing the trend as a “fairly steep reduction” that demonstrates progress toward fiscal stability.
“According to our latest assessment, public debt is expected to fall fairly sharply from 82% in 2022. We estimate or project that it will reach 60% of GDP in 2025. That is a fairly steep reduction in public debt and marks a significant step toward durably restoring fiscal sustainability,” she said.
