FLASHBACK: Public debt now 43.8% of GDP – Dr Ato Forson

The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, in July this year said Ghana's public debt now 43.8% of GDP.

He said this when he appeared before parliament to present the 2025 mid-year budget.

Read the full story originally published on July 24, 2025 by www.ghanaweb.

Ghana’s total public debt has declined significantly from GH¢726.7 billion at end-December 2024 to GH¢613 billion as of end-June 2025, representing a GH¢113.7 billion reduction within a six-month period.

The decline translates into a negative 15.6% rate of debt accumulation.

The Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who made the disclosure during the presentation of the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament, attributed the drop to government’s commitment to fiscal discipline, prudent debt management policies, and a stronger cedi performance over the period.

According to him, the substantial reduction is also reflected in Ghana’s improved debt-to-GDP ratio, which dropped sharply from 61.8% at the end of 2024 to 43.8% as of June 2025, an 18 percentage point improvement in just six months.

Providing further details, Dr Forson stated that the share of external debt in the total debt portfolio had also declined.

Multilateral lenders must support Africa's debt restructuring efforts - Ato Forson

Foreign debt, which accounted for 57.4% of the country’s total debt stock as of December 2024, now stands at 49%, a development he said enhances Ghana’s overall debt sustainability outlook.

The decline in the public debt stock comes amid Ghana’s ongoing implementation of the IMF-supported Post-COVID-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), as well as the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), which has contributed to the restructuring and reprofiling of the debt portfolio.

The minister also hinted that the government will continue to prioritise debt sustainability in the medium term, noting that enhanced revenue mobilisation, expenditure efficiency, and exchange rate stability will remain key pillars of fiscal policy going forward.

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