Ghana’s debt-to-GDP to reach 90.7% by end of 2022 – IMF projection

Ghana's debt-to-Gross Domestic Product is projected to end the year with a ratio of 90.7 percent, the International Monetary Fund has said in its latest Fiscal Outlook Report. According to the report, Ghana’s debt-to-GDP is projected to also reach 87.8 percent in 2023 while revenue captured as a ratio of GDP could hit 14.1 percent by the end of 2022. “It will subsequently increase to 14.7% in 2023 and 15.4% in 2024”, the report noted. In addition to the figures, the IMF classified Ghana as a Low-Income Developing Country. This comes after the World Bank recently classified the nation as a High Risk of Debt Distress in its Debt Sustainability Analysis. Also, the World Bank, in its October 2022 Africa Pulse Report, projected that Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio will reach 104 percent by the end 2022, which is more than the projection made by the IMF. Ghana is now seeking an economic support programme from the IMF to restore macroeconomic stability among others. The country is targeting an amount of $3 billion once an agreement can be reached. Officials from Ghana and the IMF Mission team are holding the second round of negotiations which will focus on debt sustainability analysis which is a key requisite process for an economic support programme. Meanwhile, recent data from the Bank of Ghana showed that the country's public debt hit GH¢402 billion as of July 2022, representing 68 percent of GDP. MA/FNOQ