According to recent statistics issued by the Bank of Ghana, Ghana’s overall public debt stock has climbed once again.
The debt stock, which stood at GHS291.6 billion at the end of 2020, increased by around GHS13 billion in the first quarter of 2021.
This marks a 4% rise, bringing Ghana’s total public debt to GHS 304.6 billion as of the end of March 2021.Ghana’s debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at 70.2 percent as of the end of March 2021, thanks to the revised debt number.
According to figures from the Central Bank, this is lower than the debt-to-GDP ratio of 76.1 percent reported at the end of 2020.The estimated GDP number of GHS433.6 billion for the year 2021 may be ascribed to the lower debt to GDP ratio despite a rise in overall debt.
The new GDP number reflects a 13 percent rise over the GDP statistic for 2020, which was GHS383.3 billion.
The component of debt obtained outside the nation remained largely consistent in the first quarter, even declining little to GHS141 billion in March from GHS142.5 billion in January and February of this year.
As of the end of March 2021, the external debt component accounted for 32.5 percent of the overall value of the economy, which is expected to reach around GHS434 billion in 2021.
The component of debt secured domestically, on the other hand, climbed rapidly in the first three months of 2021. This is a GHS 14 billion rise from January to March this year, bringing total domestic debt to GHS163.6 billion at the conclusion of the assessment period, or 37.7% of estimated GDP for 2021.
The financial sector resolution bond, worth GHS15.2 billion as of the end of March 2021, is included in the domestic component of the overall state debt.
Source: CITINEWSROOM
