International credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded Ghana’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating from ‘B-’ to ‘B’ with a Positive Outlook, citing strong economic growth, improving public finances, and a sharp decline in the country’s debt burden.
In a statement released on Friday, May 8, 2026, Fitch said the upgrade reflects Ghana’s improved economic conditions, supported by strong real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, fiscal consolidation measures, appreciation of the cedi, and rising international reserves.
The agency explained that the Positive Outlook signals confidence that the government will continue implementing prudent fiscal policies, strengthen public financial management, and maintain efforts to stabilise the economy.
Fitch projected that Ghana’s public debt will fall further to 46 percent of GDP by 2027, below the average for countries with a similar ‘B’ credit rating. According to the agency, this follows a significant 21 percentage-point reduction in 2025, largely driven by the strengthening of the cedi and fiscal reforms.
The rating agency also forecast continued growth in Ghana’s international reserves due to strong current account surpluses, foreign direct investment inflows, and support from multilateral institutions. Fitch expects reserves to rise to cover 4.8 months of external payments by 2027, higher than the projected average of 3.9 months for countries rated ‘B’.
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It further disclosed that Ghana’s unencumbered reserves increased by 5.4 billion dollars in 2025 to reach 12.3 billion dollars, equivalent to 3.6 months of external payments.
On external trade, Fitch projected that Ghana’s current account surplus will remain strong in 2026 after recording a historic surplus of 8.2 percent of GDP in 2025. The agency attributed the performance to high global gold prices and strong export growth.
Fitch also praised Ghana’s fiscal management, saying the country is expected to achieve its primary surplus target of 1.5 percent of GDP in both 2026 and 2027 after recording a record surplus of 2.9 percent in 2025.
The agency noted that improvements in public financial management have reduced the risk of fiscal slippages, although interest costs remain high. Fitch expects the interest-to-revenue ratio to remain around 20 percent through 2027.
According to the agency, Ghana returned to the domestic bond market in April 2026 after depending mainly on treasury bills since the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme in 2023. The country issued a seven-year bond worth 3.8 billion Ghana cedis.
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Fitch also highlighted improvements in inflation, stating that the rate slowed to 3.2 percent in March 2026, the lowest level since 1999, before rising slightly to 3.4 percent in April.
The agency expects inflation to continue declining over the next two years while the Bank of Ghana maintains a cautious monetary policy stance to control inflation risks.
Fitch further projected that Ghana’s economy will maintain strong growth averaging about 5 percent through 2027, supported by gold mining, improved consumer confidence, lower borrowing costs, and a less restrictive fiscal environment.
Despite the positive assessment, Fitch warned that weaker fiscal performance, rising debt servicing costs, or failure to build external reserves could result in a downgrade in future.
However, the agency added that continued fiscal reforms, lower debt servicing costs, and sustained growth in reserves could lead to another upgrade for Ghana in the coming years.
