Ghana’s credit to private sector fell to 7.9% of GDP in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. Higher credit can mean firms and households have funding to invest and smooth spending, and it can also mean debts are building up faster than incomes. Lower credit can reflect careful lenders or borrowers, and it can also reflect firms finding money hard to get. For that reason the level carries no verdict until it is set against what is happening in the economy. The latest figure for January 2025 is 7.9% of GDP, down from 8.9% of GDP a year earlier. It is also the lowest in the range since 2016, when the high was 17.4% of GDP.

Why it matters. At 7.9% of GDP, private credit in Ghana is a little under half of its 2016 level relative to the economy. Firms looking for working capital or money to expand have a smaller pool of bank lending behind them than they had then. Households have less borrowing available for housing, education or other large purchases. For the state, a thin credit base means less private investment is being financed through the banking system.