According to data from the Bank of Ghana, Ghana's public debt stock decreased by ¢141.1 billion in December 2022, bringing the total debt to ¢434.6 billion, approximately 71.2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This amount is equivalent to $52 billion.
The Summary of Economic and Financial Data for May 2023 revealed that Ghana's debt in cedi terms had steadily risen to ¢575.7 billion ($43.9 billion) by the end of November 2022, representing about 93.5% of GDP.
This decline in the total public debt in December 2022 can be attributed to the suspension of payment of certain external debts, as well as gains made by the local currency, the cedi, against the dollar during that period.
Furthermore, in December 2022, Ghana suspended loan payments to its external creditors as part of efforts to rebalance the economy.
Data from the Central Bank showed that the external component of the total public debt was $28.9 billion (¢240.2 billion) in December 2022, lower than the $29.2 billion (¢382.7 billion) recorded in November 2022, accounting for 39.4% of GDP.
The domestic debt, on the other hand, stood at ¢194.4 billion at the end of December 2022, representing about 31.9% of GDP.
It is worth noting that the report did not provide data on the financial sector resolution debt and other liabilities, such as the energy sector debt.
In March 2023, Ghana's nominal GDP experienced a significant rise, reaching ¢873.1 billion, an increase of ¢262.9 billion.
This substantial increase in nominal GDP can be largely attributed to the elevated prices of goods and services produced within the country, driven by persistently high inflation rates, which stood at 45% in March 2023.
The government's fiscal deficit to GDP ratio stood at 0.8% in March 2023, a significant improvement compared to 8.3% of GDP recorded in December 2022.
The primary balance, which indicates the government's ability to cover its expenditures with its own revenue, stood at 0.1% of GDP in March 2023.
