Ghana's interest payments (% of expense) was 32.79% in 2022, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 20.76 percentage points from 12.03% in 2012.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 32.79% | 2022 |
| Five years earlier | 29.76% | 2017 |
| Ten years earlier | 12.03% | 2012 |
| Highest | 39.13% | 2001 |
| Lowest | 10.64% | 2007 |
| Average since 2013 | 28.7% | 2013–2022 |
| First recorded | 39.13% | 2001 |
What the numbers say
In 2022, Ghana's interest payments (% of expense) fell 2.2 percentage points on 2021 (from 34.99% to 32.79%).
Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2021), the average change was −0.21 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.27 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.31 percentage points in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.48 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.29 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 72% 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 2022, Ghana had the 2nd highest value of the 23 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Ghana | 32.79% | 2022 |
| World | 5.77% | 2022 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 10.17% | 2021 |
| Lower middle income | 10.23% | 2021 |
Closest to Ghana in the 2022 ranking
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 as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.
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).
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.
All 22 values
| Year | Interest payments (% of expense) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 32.79 |
| 2021 | 34.99 |
| 2020 | 28.68 |
| 2019 | 31.66 |
| 2018 | 29.13 |
| 2017 | 29.76 |
| 2016 | 28.71 |
| 2015 | 28.48 |
| 2014 | 24.51 |
| 2013 | 18.32 |
| 2012 |
Interest payments (% of expense) in nearby economies
- Angola — 31.91% (2019)
- Botswana — 4.04% (2023)
- Burkina Faso — 11.93% (2023)
- Burundi — 3.33% (2021)
- Cabo Verde — 8.76% (2020)
- Cameroon — 7.79% (2021)
- Central African Republic — 5.17% (2021)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.68% (2022)
- Congo, Rep. — 11.51% (2021)
- Côte d'Ivoire — 14.14% (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
Questions people ask
- What is Ghana's interest payments (% of expense)?
- 32.79% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2001?
- It is down 6.33 percentage points from 39.13% in 2001. The highest value was 39.13% in 2001 and the lowest 10.64% in 2007.
- How does Ghana rank?
- 2nd highest of 23 economies with data for 2022.
- Is the latest change in interest payments (% of expense) unusual for Ghana?
- In 2022, Ghana's interest payments (% of expense) fell 2.2 percentage points on 2021 (from 34.99% to 32.79%). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2021), the average change was −0.21 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.27 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.INTP.ZS, 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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