Ghana has significantly realigned its external debt portfolio, shifting away from expensive commercial loans towards more sustainable multilateral and bilateral funding sources as of the third quarter of 2025.
Official data from the Bank of Ghana Statistical Bulletin indicates that while the total external debt stock stood at approximately $29.53 billion in September 2025, the composition of the debt had undergone a radical transformation compared to the $28.41 billion recorded in the same period of 2022 pre-restructuring period.
It attributed the shift largely to the government’s successful debt restructuring programme and a deliberate policy to prioritise concessional borrowing to reduce interest rate risks and debt servicing costs.
“The government is moving to minimise risks in the public debt portfolio to ensure long-term sustainability,” it said.
“This is reflected in the sharp rise of multilateral debt, which grew from $7.76 billion in 2022 to $12.18 billion by the third quarter of 2025.”
Similarly, bilateral debt saw a substantial increase, rising from $1.19 billion to $5.74 billion over the same period, following the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding with the Official Creditor Committee in early 2025.
The bulletin said exposure to international capital markets and commercial creditors had reduced, while commercial creditor debt also declined from $3.90 billion to $2.71 billion.
Debt held in Eurobonds and other capital market instruments fell from $13.10 billion in 2022 to $8.90 billion in 2025, marking the impact of the $13.1 billion Eurobond restructuring completed in late 2024.
GNA