Ghana’s public debt rises to GH¢719.52bn by June 2026

Ghana’s provisional public debt stock climbed to GH¢719.52 billion at the end of June 2026, representing 45.0 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the latest Monetary Policy Report from the Bank of Ghana.

The figure marks an increase from GH¢641.11 billion, equivalent to 44.7 per cent of GDP, recorded at the end of December 2025.

The Bank of Ghana attributed the rise largely to increased domestic borrowing as the government sought to build financial buffers for upcoming debt service obligations and support budget financing.

By the end of June 2026, domestic debt accounted for 54.4 per cent of the total public debt, while external debt represented the remaining 45.6 per cent.

The central bank said domestic debt increased significantly during the first half of the year, in line with the government’s net domestic financing target and efforts to strengthen its capacity to meet future debt service commitments.

Domestic debt rose by GH¢57.36 billion, from GH¢333.76 billion in December 2025 to GH¢391.12 billion at the end of June 2026.

According to the report, the increase was driven by the reopening of the bond market in March 2026, tap issuances of medium- and long-term debt instruments, as well as the recapitalisation of the Bank of Ghana.

The Bank also noted that the government was taking advantage of relatively lower domestic borrowing costs, which it described as sustainable.

External debt, meanwhile, increased in cedi terms from GH¢307.36 billion in December 2025 to GH¢328.40 billion by June 2026.

The Bank of Ghana explained that although the stock of external debt declined in foreign currency terms due to principal repayments, the depreciation of the cedi increased the local-currency value of the country’s external obligations.

Multilateral creditors remained the largest source of external financing, accounting for 41.9 per cent of total external debt as of June 2026.

Bilateral creditors accounted for 20.0 per cent, while commercial creditors and international capital market debt represented 9.2 per cent and 29.0 per cent, respectively.

On the domestic debt structure, the report indicated that short-term instruments remained the largest component, reflecting strong investor demand for government securities, particularly 364-day Treasury bills.

Short-term instruments accounted for 41.0 per cent of domestic debt, followed by medium-term instruments at 39.1 per cent and long-term instruments at 19.7 per cent.

The Bank of Ghana said the increase in domestic borrowing was also part of efforts to build adequate buffers in the Sinking Fund to meet significant debt service obligations expected from maturing bonds in 2027 and 2028.