Ghana’s credit standing on the international market has improved significantly after Fitch Ratings upgraded the country’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating from B- to B with a Positive Outlook.
The agency based its decision on Ghana’s strong economic growth, falling debt levels, improved fiscal management, and increasing foreign reserves.
Fitch Ratings announced the upgrade on Friday, May 8, 2026, as Ghana continues efforts to rebuild economic stability after completing its recent debt restructuring programme.
“Even in the midst of global uncertainty and economic turbulence, Fitch has upgraded Ghana’s credit rating from B- to B,” the agency stated in its latest report.
According to the report, Ghana’s improved rating reflects “a sharp fall in public debt/GDP, supported by robust real GDP growth, substantial fiscal consolidation efforts and currency appreciation, and a marked increase in international reserves that lowers external liquidity risks.”
The agency expects Ghana’s public debt to keep declining and projected it will fall to 46% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2027.
This figure is expected to remain below the average forecast for countries within the B rating category.
Fitch Ratings also highlighted Ghana’s stronger external financial position. It explained that healthy current account surpluses, foreign direct investment inflows, and support from multilateral institutions should increase the country’s reserves to cover about 4.8 months of external payments by 2027.
The report further revealed that Ghana’s unencumbered reserves rose by US$5.4 billion in 2025, bringing the total to US$12.3 billion.
The agency also praised Ghana’s record current account surplus of 8.2% of GDP in 2025. Strong gold exports and favourable international gold prices mainly drove this performance.
On the fiscal side, Fitch Ratings projected that Ghana would maintain primary fiscal surpluses of 1.5% of GDP in both 2026 and 2027 after recording a historic 2.9% surplus in 2025.
“Ghana has significantly improved public financial management, and this lowers the risk of short-term fiscal slippages,” the report noted.
The ratings agency also pointed to lower inflation and stronger economic activity as important reasons behind the upgrade.
Inflation dropped to 3.2% in March 2026, marking the country’s lowest inflation rate since 1999. The agency described this as a clear sign of improving economic stability.
Fitch Ratings expects Ghana’s economy to continue growing strongly through 2027, with growth averaging around 5%.
Gold mining activities, improving consumer confidence, lower inflation, and reduced borrowing costs are expected to support this expansion.
Despite the positive outlook, the agency warned that Ghana still faces some economic risks.
It identified high debt servicing costs and exposure to external shocks as major concerns.
The report added that weaker fiscal performance, rising inflation, or failure to increase external reserves could hurt Ghana’s rating in the future.
However, Fitch stated that continued fiscal discipline, sustained reforms, and stronger reserve growth could result in more upgrades in the coming years.
