Ghana’s external accounts delivered a remarkable performance in 2025, even as the country faced a sharp increase in payments for foreign services.
According to the latest report by Bank of Ghana, the country’s net payments for services surged to US$4.58 billion in 2025, more than doubling the US$2.23 billion recorded in 2024.
The substantial increase reflected higher spending on freight, insurance, trade related services, financial services and travel. These rising costs underscore Ghana’s continued dependence on imported services and the growing expense of participating in global trade and financial markets.
While the services account recorded a significant deterioration, the country’s overall external position remained resilient, thanks to strong performances across the current account, capital account and financial account.
Rising Service Costs Raise Fresh Questions
The sharp rise in net services payments is likely to attract attention from economists and policymakers, particularly at a time when Ghana is working to strengthen its balance of payments and improve foreign exchange stability.
Higher freight and insurance costs point to the increasing expense of international trade, while larger payments for financial services and travel suggest stronger economic activity and growing cross border transactions.
Although these developments may reflect expanding commercial activity, they also represent a substantial outflow of foreign exchange that could place pressure on the country’s external accounts if left unchecked.
The data highlights the need to strengthen domestic capacity in areas such as shipping, insurance and financial services to reduce reliance on foreign providers over the long term.
Remittance Inflows Decline Slightly
The report also showed that inflows through the current transfers account, which are largely driven by private remittances, recorded a marginal decline.
Net inflows into the current transfers account fell to US$5.32 billion in 2025 from US$5.42 billion in 2024.
Although the reduction was relatively small, remittances continue to play a critical role in supporting household incomes, consumption and foreign exchange inflows.
The modest decline suggests that while overseas Ghanaians continued to support families back home, transfers softened slightly during the review period.
Lower Income Payments Offer Some Relief
One encouraging development was the reduction in net income payments to non residents.
According to the Bank of Ghana, net income payments declined to US$5.14 billion in 2025 from US$5.37 billion in 2024.
The improvement was attributed to lower private sector payments as well as reduced interest payments on government external debt.
This easing helped offset part of the pressure created by the rising services deficit and contributed positively to Ghana’s overall external balance.
Capital Account Records Stronger Inflows
Ghana also recorded improved performance in its capital account during the year.
The capital account posted net inflows of US$0.16 billion, compared with US$0.12 billion in 2024.
The increase was driven primarily by project grant inflows, reflecting continued support from development partners for infrastructure and other priority projects.
Although relatively modest in value, these inflows provided an additional boost to Ghana’s external accounts.
Massive External Surplus Strengthens Ghana’s Position
Despite the mounting burden from services payments, Ghana recorded an impressive combined surplus in the current and capital account.
The combined surplus reached US$9.55 billion during 2025, placing the country in a net lending position with the rest of the world.
This means Ghana generated more foreign exchange from its external transactions than it spent overall, despite the significant rise in payments for imported services.
The surplus demonstrates the strength of the country’s external sector and reflects improvements across several key components of the balance of payments.
Financial Account Delivers Exceptional Performance
The financial account also recorded one of its strongest performances in recent years.
According to the report, the financial account posted a net lending position of US$9.44 billion, representing a dramatic increase from US$1.80 billion in 2024.
A major contributor was the surge in other investments, which increased by US$4.36 billion to reach US$6.25 billion.
Foreign investment also improved during the year.
Net foreign direct investment rose by US$0.11 billion to US$1.87 billion, while net portfolio investment increased by US$0.66 billion to US$0.98 billion.
These gains point to improving investor confidence in Ghana’s economy and stronger capital inflows that helped reinforce the country’s external financial position.
Reserve Assets Climb Sharply
One of the most notable achievements highlighted in the report was the significant increase in Ghana’s reserve assets.
Reserve assets climbed to US$3.98 billion in 2025, compared with US$1.49 billion in 2024.
The sharp increase strengthens Ghana’s ability to absorb external shocks, support exchange rate stability and meet international payment obligations.
Higher reserves also provide an important buffer against future global economic uncertainties and improve confidence among investors and international financial institutions.
A Story of Contrasting Trends
The 2025 external sector data paints a picture of contrasting developments. On one hand, Ghana’s rapidly rising services payment bill exposes ongoing structural challenges and continued dependence on imported services.
On the other hand, strong financial inflows, rising investment, improved reserves and a sizeable current and capital account surplus demonstrate remarkable resilience.
The figures suggest that while policymakers may need to focus on reducing the country’s growing services deficit, Ghana’s broader external position remains considerably stronger than it was a year earlier.
If the country can sustain investment inflows while developing domestic service industries, it could further strengthen its external accounts and reduce future pressure from rising foreign service payments.
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