The country’s total debt by the end of 2023 took a jump from GH¢446.3 billion in 2022 to GH¢610 billion ($52.4 billion), according to the Bank of Ghana (BOG)’s summary of economic and financial data. The total debt stock is 72.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The debt saw a further increase of GH¢42.7 billion between September and December 2023 after it fell by GH¢14.2 billion between June and September 2023. By September 2023, Ghana’s debt stock stood at GH¢567.3 billion ($51 billion) then continued its ascendancy by GH¢600.9 billion in November 2023.

The data further revealed that domestic debt grew by GH¢259.7 billion in December 2023 while external debt also increased by $30.1 billion (GH¢350.3 billion) that same period, representing 41.6% of GDP.

The new debt figure suggests therefore that Ghana’s debt situation has not improved despite concluding the Domestic Debt Exchange during the period.

Gross International Reserves (GIR) as at February 2024 dropped to $6,199.5 million which is equivalent to 2.8 months of import cover. Comparatively, GIR in January 2024 stood at $6,316.5 million (2.9 months of import cover) which was increased from $5,906.6 million in December 2023.