Ghana’s debt has become highly unsustainable, as the country has been described as a high-debt distressed economy.
In his latest address on the state of the economy, the finance minister stated that Ghana’s debt stands at over 100% of GDP.
An economist, Theo Acheampong, has outlined Ghana’s creditors and the various amounts that the country owes.
“I took my time to comb through the official public debt stats from last year and reproduce them in the table below for easy comprehension by the various readers on my feed,” he wrote on his Twitter page on December 19, 2022.
The source of his data was the 2021 Annual Public Debt Report by the Finance Ministry.
According to the data, for external debts, international capital markets/Eurobonds held the largest component of the country’s debt i.e., 46% culminating in 13,120 million dollars.
Multilateral debts stood at 8,192 million dollars representing 29%.
For domestic debts, commercial banks were the largest creditors with GH¢55,171 million representing 30%, firms and institutions 23%, and the Bank of Ghana 20%.
Others, including foreign and individual investors, rural banks, insurance companies, and SSNIT, formed the other portions of the country’s debt.
See the table below
Dr. Acheampong also added that “In essence, there's a long road ahead towards comprehensive debt structuring being envisaged by the authorities, given the variety of the holders of Ghanaian debt and the complexity of their interests.”
HOW MUCH AND WHO DOES GHANA OWE?
— Theo Acheampong, PhD (@mytheoz) December 19, 2022
1/ I took my time to comb through the official public debt stats from last year and reproduce them in the table below for easy comprehension by the various readers on my feed. pic.twitter.com/gtjllF24HC