Economy · Current account balance · Ghana
Ghana’s current account balance rose to 8.2% of GDP in 2025.
8.2% of GDP
2025
Up 6.3 pp from 2024.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
8.2% of GDP
What it is. The current account balance adds up what a country earns from the rest of the world and what it pays out. It covers trade in goods and services, income on investments and wages, and transfers such as remittances and grants. A positive figure means net money flowing in. Loans, portfolio investment and other financial flows sit in a separate account, so this measure shows the size of the gap or surplus but not how it is financed.
Higher is better. A higher balance is better because a surplus means the economy earns more abroad than it spends, which reduces the need for foreign borrowing and allows reserves to build. Ghana's balance was 8.2% of GDP in 2025, up from 1.9% of GDP a year earlier, a rise of 6.3 percentage points. That is the highest reading since 2016, the start of the window, and it sits at the top of the range. The lowest point in the window was −5% of GDP in 2016.
Why it matters. A surplus of 8.2% of GDP means more foreign currency is coming into Ghana than going out. That gives the cedi firmer support, helps the central bank hold reserves, and makes it easier for the state and firms to meet external debt payments and pay for imports. The next annual reading will show whether the surplus holds.
| Period | Current account balance · Ghana |
|---|---|
| 2016 | −5% of GDP |
| 2017 | −3.3% of GDP |
| 2018 | −3% of GDP |
| 2019 | −2.7% of GDP |
| 2020 | −3% of GDP |
| 2021 | −2.8% of GDP |
| 2022 | −2.3% of GDP |
| 2023 | −0.91% of GDP |
| 2024 | 1.9% of GDP |
| 2025 | 8.2% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Current account balance, Ghana, 2025; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/current-account-balance/ghana
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Methodology
Current account balance as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP. A negative value is a deficit.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.