Ghana has once again secured its position as the African country with the highest debt owed to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to data from the IMF’s Quarterly Finances for July 2023, Ghana’s debt to the IMF has surged by 35.55% during the specified period. This increase amounts to 9.55% of the total outstanding loans from the Fund to African nations, which stands at 17.68 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR).

As of July 31, 2023, Ghana’s outstanding SDR debt to the IMF was $1.689 billion, surpassing the $1.246 billion recorded as of April 30, 2023. Ghana has also made repayments to the IMF, returning SDR 8 million. It’s worth noting that SDR 1 equals US$1.34294.

In the same time frame, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo ranked second and third in terms of the largest outstanding loans to the IMF in Africa. Kenya’s debt to the IMF amounted to SDR 1.008, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo owed the Fund SDR 1.142 billion.

Sudan and Uganda maintained their positions as the fourth and fifth countries with the highest exposure to the IMF, with projected debts of SDR 992 million and SDR 812 million, respectively. The rest of Africa collectively owed the IMF 11.32 billion SDR as of July 31, 2023.