Ghana’s Public Debt now stands at Ghc391.9 billion.

Ghana’s public debt stock increased by Ghc40.1 billion to Ghc391.9 billion by the end of March 2022, according to the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Economic and Financial Data.

The increase in debt is mostly attributable to exchange rate fluctuations and, to a lesser extent, local market borrowings. The cedi began a fast decline against the dollar in the first quarter of 2022, although depreciation was halted in April 2022 as a result of monetary measures taken by the Bank of Ghana.

The debt, however, was estimated to be 78 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. This is a minor decrease from the 80% observed in December 2021.

The debt increased by Ghc20.5 billion in January 2022 and then by Ghc19.7 billion in February 2022, according to the data.

Domestic debt increased by Ghc8 billion in the first quarter of 2022, reaching Ghc189.9 billion in March 2021. This is the equivalent to 37.8% of GDP.

In March 2022, the foreign component of the total public debt increased to $28.4 billion (Ghc201.9 billion), up from $28.1 billion in December 2021. The numbers plainly show that there were no foreign borrowings in the first quarter of this year.

However, the external debt-to-GDP ratio is roughly 40.2 percent of GDP.

The cedi component increased by Ghc31.9 billion in the first three months of 2022, owing to the depreciation of the cedi against the dollar.

The financial industry resolution bond, on the other hand, fell to Ghc14.6 billion in March 2022 from Ghc14.9 billion in December 2021. This corresponds to 2.9 percent of GDP.

IMF forecasts Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio of 84.6% in 2022

In its April 2022 Fiscal Monitor, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted that Ghana’s debt to GDP ratio will be 84.6 percent in 2022.

The country’s overall debt was anticipated by the Fund to be 81.8 percent of GDP in 2021, higher than the Bank of Ghana’s estimate of 80.1 percent, or around Ghc351.8 billion dollars.

The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio would rise from 2022 to 88.4% in 2026, before decreasing to 87.4% in 2027, according to the IMF.

However, in 2022 and 2023, it will have a debt-to-GDP ratio of 84 percent, before increasing to 85 percent and 86 percent in 2024 and 2025, respectively.