Key takeaways:
- Ghana now spends less than 20% of its revenue on debt servicing
- The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio has fallen to 45% as of June 2026
- Ghana fully settled a $700 million Eurobond obligation ahead of schedule in July
Ghana has reduced its debt-servicing-to-revenue ratio to below 20%, down from more than half in previous years.
This was contained in a statement from Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, posted on his official X handle on Sunday.
“In the past, Ghana spent over 50 percent of its national revenue on servicing debt,” Forson wrote. He said the previous debt-service burden had severely constrained the resources available for critical public services.
“This left less money for schools, hospitals, roads and other essential infrastructure,” he added. “Today, I am proud to say that we have made significant progress. We now spend less than 20 per cent of our revenue on servicing debt!”
The disclosure adds to a string of debt milestones Forson has announced in recent months as Ghana works to complete its broader debt restructuring programme, launched after the country defaulted on parts of its external debt in 2022.
Ghana’s debt portfolio so far
Ghana’s debt crisis peaked with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 88% at its worst, driven by years of overspending, the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp rise in global interest rates.
The country subsequently restructured its debt through a domestic exchange programme in 2023, followed by negotiations with bilateral and commercial external creditors under the G20 Common Framework.
That restructuring has continued through this year. Ghana signed a debt restructuring agreement with the United Kingdom in recent months, and most recently secured a €163 million restructuring deal with Belgium, which Forson said brings the country closer to completing its debt restructuring programme in full.
“This particular agreement is important because debt restructuring is not always about just the numbers. It has to do with our citizens. It means less pressure on the national budget,” he said.
How much Ghana has paid down
Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio has fallen to 45% as of June 2026, down sharply from 61.8% at the end of 2024, according to the government’s 2026 mid-year budget review.
A joint World Bank-IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis has upgraded Ghana’s debt position from “unsustainable” in May 2023 to “sustainable with room to absorb shocks” in 2026, and the country’s external and overall risk of debt distress has improved from high to moderate for the first time since April 2014.
On July 2, the Ministry of Finance fully settled a $700 million Eurobond obligation ahead of schedule.
Ghana also returned to the domestic long-term bond market in April, raising GH¢2.7 billion (about $242.5 million) through its first seven-year cedi-denominated bond since the 2022 Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, a signal of restored investor confidence.
Despite the progress, Forson has cautioned that significant obligations remain. GH¢58 billion (about $5.21 billion) in restructured domestic bonds are due to mature in 2027, with another GH¢53 billion (about $4.76 billion) falling due in 2028, meaning Ghana must repay GH¢111 billion (about $9.97 billion) within those two years combined.
To meet those obligations, the government has strengthened its Sinking Fund and plans to allocate 7% of non-oil tax revenue, along with proceeds from domestic bond issuances, toward future debt servicing under its 2026-2029 Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy.
