Every Ghanaian owes over GH¢21,500 per the current public debt

With the current population of 34.45 million, each Ghanaian now owes GH¢21,538.46 from the country’s public debt.

The population of Ghana, as at January 2024, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) stood at 34.45 million. Data shows that the figures increased by 650,000 (+1.9 per cent) between early 2023 and the start of 2024.

This means that every Ghanaian owes GH¢21,538.46 when divided by the public debt which now stands at GH¢742billion according to the Finance Minister.

Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, the Minister of Finance, during the presentation of the 2024 mid-year budget announced that government’s debt has reached GH¢742.0 billion (US$50.9 billion) as of the end of June 2024.

The sum, according to the Minister, is equivalent to 70.6 per cent the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The depreciation of the cedi, the Minister noted, contributed to a 22 per cent rise of the debt, as well as creditors’ disbursements.

“This indicates an increase of 22.0 per cent due to the effect of the cedi depreciation and the continuous disbursements from creditors,“ he said Tuesday, July 23, 2024.

Dr. Amin Adam disclosed further that GH¢452.0 billion constituting 60.9 per cent out of the total debt was external, with the remaining GH¢290.0 billion being domestic debt, accounting for 39.1 per cent of the total.

“As a percentage of GDP, external and domestic debt represented 43.0 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively,” he said.

Source:onuaonline.com