Chinese overseas lending / GHA
Ghana: debt owed to China
In 2021, Ghana is estimated to have owed China $2.79bn, equal to 3.5% of its GDP, which ranks it 35 of 126 borrowers in the panel by dollars owed. The estimated stock peaked at $3.38bn in 2017.
The estimated stock, 2000 to 2021
The largest single-year move in the estimated stock is 2018, when it fell by $631m.
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending. Selection: estimated stock owed to China by Ghana, by year and instrument, 2000 to 2021. Zeros are estimated zeros (no known loans outstanding), not missing values. Methodology
Historical loan records from the 2021 release
These records come from the 2021 HRT Mendeley replication release, not the November 2025 refreshed stock panel charted above. The refresh uses the updated Franz, Horn, Parks, Reinhart and Trebesch methodology, so this table cannot be reconciled to the chart. The earlier release marks 33 loan-level records for Ghana as part of its debt-estimate sample, spanning 2000 to 2016. Comparable commitments are available for 33 of those loans and sum to $3.55bn. These are gross commitments, not outstanding debt stocks. The stock methodology applies disbursement and amortisation profiles, with imputation where loan terms are missing, so the commitment sum must not be compared with the stock above. See the methodology. Terms are sparse by source: interest rate appears on 28 loans, grace period on 25, maturity on 25, any of the three on 28, and all three together on 25. The earlier file also carries 60 additional project rows for Ghana outside that sample, so they are not included in this table.
| Year | Project | Commitment, USD | Commitment, source currency | Terms | Creditor | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Self-Help Electrification Programme (SHEP) Phase V - Equipment and Material Supply for Phase I ID: GHA_92 · Source: JH CARI | $88m | n/a | rate 1.5% | grace 4y | maturity 15y | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2016 | Self-Help Electrification Programme (SHEP) in Five Regions ID: GHA_93 · Source: JH CARI | $85m | n/a | rate 1.5% | grace 5y | maturity 15y | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Project; Jubilee Oil Field ID: GHA_89 · Source: JH CARI | $850m | n/a | rate 3.3% | grace 3y | maturity 10y | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | ICT Surveillance Platform for the Oil Field ID: GHA_88 · Source: JH CARI | $150m | n/a | rate 3.3% | grace 3y | maturity 10y | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | China provides loan for Dedicated Security Information System ID: GHA_84 · Source: AidData | $129m | USD 129,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2013 | Accra One-stop Center for Public Services ID: GHA_83 · Source: JH CARI | $1.00m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan loan type n/a · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | NES Upper West Regional Electrification Project Extension ID: GHA_79 · Source: JH CARI | $130m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE) State-owned enterprise | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | Northern Region Rural Electrification ID: GHA_80 · Source: JH CARI | $102m | n/a | rate 0.7% | grace 5y | maturity 15y | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) State-owned commercial bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | Second additional loan for Bui Dam project ID: GHA_82 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $76m | USD 76,000,000 | rate 0% | grace 2y | maturity 14y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | First Additional loans for Bui Dam ID: GHA_78 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $75m | USD 75,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | Phase 2 of Legon ICT project at University of Ghana ID: GHA_81 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $32m | USD 31,951,500 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 19y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2012 | Cape Coast Kotokuraba Market Project ID: GHA_73 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $32m | RMB 200,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2011 | Upper West Electrification Project; SHEP-4 Phase 2 Expansion ID: GHA_72 · Source: JH CARI | $162m | n/a | rate 1.3% | grace 5y | maturity 15y | China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE) State-owned enterprise | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2011 | Takoradi Port Expansion Phase I - Access Road ID: GHA_71 · Source: JH CARI | $150m | n/a | rate 3.5% | grace 5y | maturity 15y | China Development Bank (CDB) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2011 | E-government Project Phase II - WiMax Network Upgrade (CL Part) ID: GHA_70 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $30m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2010 | China gives Ghana 260m dollars for expansion of water supply project ID: GHA_64 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $260m | USD 260,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2009 | 120 million USD for Ghanaian e-governance projects ID: GHA_53 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $120m | USD 120,000,000 | rate 4% | grace 2y | maturity 10y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2009 | 30 million USD for fibre optic and e-governance project ID: GHA_54 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $30m | USD 30,000,000 | rate 4% | grace 2y | maturity 10y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2008 | Purchase of Ghana Armed Forces Equipment ID: GHA_50 · Source: JH CARI | $100m | n/a | rate 5% | grace 1y | maturity 5y | Poly Technologies State-owned enterprise | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2008 | UN Peacekeeping Operations in Darfur; Sudan ID: GHA_52 · Source: JH CARI | $60m | n/a | rate 5% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | Poly Technologies State-owned enterprise | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2008 | Purchase of 2 46M Patrol Boats ID: GHA_48 · Source: JH CARI | $40m | n/a | rate 5.9% | grace 1y | maturity 5y | Poly Technologies State-owned enterprise | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2008 | Purchase of Equipment ID: GHA_49 · Source: JH CARI | $23m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | Poly Technologies State-owned enterprise | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2008 | China loan for University of Ghana distance learning project ID: GHA_45 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $8.20m | USD 8,200,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2007 | Bui Dam Complex - Concessional Loan ID: GHA_38 · Source: AidData, BU Energy, JH CARI | $306m | USD 306,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2007 | Bui Dam Complex - Commercial Loan ID: GHA_37 · Source: AidData, BU Energy, JH CARI | $292m | USD 292,000,000 | rate 6.65% | grace 5y | maturity 12y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2007 | Ghana Dedicated Information Project Phase 1 ID: GHA_40 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $30m | USD 30,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2007 | Ghana-China Tech. & Economic Co-op ID: GHA_41 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $4.00m | n/a | rate 0% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) Chinese government | Loan Zero-Interest Loan · borrower Central government |
| 2006 | China provides loans of a total of 81 million USD for rural electricity of Ghana ID: GHA_36 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $81m | USD 81,000,000 | rate 6.08% | grace 4y | maturity 15y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2006 | China Funds National Fibre Backbone Project in Ghana ID: GHA_33 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $30m | USD 30,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 5y | maturity 20y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
| 2004 | 180 million RMB interest-free loan for rehabilitation of Accra-Kumasi Road ID: GHA_22 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $22m | RMB 180,000,000 | rate 0% | grace 8y | maturity 10y | China Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) Chinese government | Loan Zero-Interest Loan · borrower Central government |
| 2003 | Purchase of 400 Yaxing Buses Import ID: GHA_21 · Source: JH CARI | $19m | n/a | rate n/a | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Commercial · borrower Central government |
| 2003 | Armed Forces and Police Barracks - 40 Units ID: GHA_17 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $3.80m | n/a | rate 0% | grace n/a | maturity n/a | China Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) Chinese government | Loan Zero-Interest Loan · borrower Central government |
| 2000 | Ghana acquires loan for electrification project from China ID: GHA_13 · Source: AidData, JH CARI | $26m | USD 26,000,000 | rate 2% | grace 3y | maturity 10y | China Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) State-owned policy bank | Loan Concessional · borrower Central government |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (2021 Mendeley replication loan file). Selection: 2021 replication loan records mapped to Ghana and flagged DebtEstimateSample = 1 in that release. This is an earlier source universe, not the records used for the November 2025 refreshed stock panel. CommitmentUSD is a gross commitment flow and is not comparable to the charted stock. Commitment stays in its source currency, and ProjectDescription is rendered as free-text data from the file. Methodology
Against what Ghana reports owing to all creditors
Ghana reported $46.58bn of total external debt to all creditors in 2021, of which $26.61bn is public and publicly guaranteed. The China estimate is 6.0% of the reported external total and 7.8% of the reported public and guaranteed stock. These are ratios of two different measurements, one estimated and one borrower-reported, and they are not a share of a single consistent total.
| Measure, 2021 | Estimated, owed China | Reported, all creditors | Ratio, % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total external debt | $2.79bn | $46.58bn | 6.0% |
| Public and publicly guaranteed | $2.06bn | $26.61bn | 7.8% |
Source: Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, China’s Overseas Lending (estimated stocks), and World Bank International Debt Statistics, borrower-reported via the Debtor Reporting System (all-creditor stocks). Selection: estimated external and PPG stock owed to China in 2021 against Ghana's reported DT.DOD.DECT.CD and DT.DOD.DPPG.CD for the same year. Drawn swap balances are excluded from the estimated column: they are a central-bank liability the Debtor Reporting System's long-term-debt concepts do not carry. Methodology