Ghana’s public debt stock went up by ¢9 billion in July 2022 to ¢402.4 billion, the October 2022 Bank of Ghana Summary of Economic and Financial Data has revealed.
This is equivalent to 68% of the Gross Domestic Product and is in sharp contrast to the projected 104.6% of debt to GDP ratio in 2022 by the World Bank.
In dollar terms, the country’s debt dropped marginally to $53.2 billion in July 2022, from $54.4 billion in June 2022.
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Based on the data, the nation did not borrow fresh funds from the international market during the period. However, the debt level will go up going forward, following the $750 million Afrieximbank loan in August 2022.
According to the data, the external debt remained essentially unchanged at $28 billion, equivalent to 35.8% of GDP.
The domestic debt however has been going up since January 2022 because of the significant borrowing by the government in the domestic financial market.
It stood at ¢190.3 billion in July 2022, from ¢190.1 billion in June 2022.
The domestic debt began the year at ¢181.9 billion in January 2022 and then went up to ¢185.4 billion in February 2022 and ¢190.1 billion in March 2022. It subsequently shot up to ¢189.2 in April 2022 and ¢188.5 billion in May 2022.
On the other hand, the financial sector resolution bond fell by ¢100 million to ¢14.4 billion in July 2022. This is equivalent to 2.4% of GDP.
The total public debt stock of the country dropped to ¢388.1 billion in April 2022, from ¢392.1 billion in March 2022. It later went up marginally to ¢389.2 billion in May 2022 and subsequently to ¢393.4 billion in June 2022.
World Bank classifies Ghana as high-debt distressed country
The World Bank in its latest Africa Pulse Report ranked Ghana as a high debt distress country as it projects the nation’s debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 104.6% by the end of 2022.
According to the report, debt is expected to jump significantly, from 76.6% a year earlier, amid a widened government deficit, massive weakening of the cedi, and rising debt service costs.
Source: MyJoyOnline.com
