Ghana: Interest payments (current LCU)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Ghana's interest payments (current LCU) fell 35.8% on 2022 (from 45.69 billion to 29.35 billion).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2022), the average change was +34.6% and a typical year strayed about 27.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 120.9% in 1993 and the biggest yearly fall was 35.8% in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 3.66 billion a year. A straight line explains 81% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2023, Ghana had the 10th highest value of the 17 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Ghana in the 2023 ranking

• Iceland — 7th of 17: 206.57 billion
• Togo — 8th of 17: 153.02 billion
• Nepal — 9th of 17: 73.03 billion
• Botswana — 11th of 17: 2.55 billion
• Jordan — 12th of 17: 1.7 billion
• Croatia — 13th of 17: 1.26 billion

What this measures

Interest payments include interest payments on government debt (including long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments) to domestic and foreign residents. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

All 27 values

Interest payments (current LCU) in nearby economies

• Angola — 4.78 trillion (2024)
• Botswana — 2.55 billion (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 305.62 billion (2024)
• Burundi — 33.28 billion (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 4.77 billion (2020)
• Cameroon — 241.62 billion (2021)
• Central African Republic — 8.42 billion (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 119.33 billion (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 152.6 billion (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 1.24 trillion (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea

More public sector data for Ghana

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 506.65 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 6.37 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 0.48% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 5 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 2.4% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 16,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.13% (2020)
• Grants and other revenue (current LCU) — 25.99 billion (2023)
• Grants and other revenue (% of revenue) — 19.11% (2023)
• Revenue, excluding grants (current LCU)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Ghana's interest payments (current LCU)?

29.35 billion in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1990?

It is up 1.07 million% from 2.73 million in 1990 (32.48% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 45.69 billion in 2022 and the lowest 2.73 million in 1990.

How does Ghana rank?

10th highest of 17 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in interest payments (current LCU) unusual for Ghana?

In 2023, Ghana's interest payments (current LCU) fell 35.8% on 2022 (from 45.69 billion to 29.35 billion). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (1991 to 2022), the average change was +34.6% and a typical year strayed about 27.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.INTP.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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