Ghana’s Gross International Reserves (GIR) climbed steadily in the first half of 2025, closing June at $11.12 billion, the strongest buffer the country has held in recent years and a sign of improving external stability.
Data from the Bank of Ghana’s Summary of Macroeconomic and Financial Data shows a clear upward climb over the past year. Reserves stood at $6.86 billion in June 2024, rose to $8.98 billion by December, and crossed the crucial $10 billion mark in March 2025. By the end of June, the stock had risen further to $11.12 billion, reflecting nearly $4.3 billion in growth in just 12 months.
This reserve build‑up has also strengthened Ghana’s import cover, the number of months the country can pay for its imports with existing reserves. It moved from 3.4 months in June 2024 to 4.3 months by December, and now sits at 4.8 months, providing a stronger cushion against external shocks.
The improvement reflects stronger gold export earnings, healthier trade balances, and external inflows linked to debt restructuring and fiscal support programmes. Gold holdings in particular have grown sharply, rising in value from $1.49 billion in June 2024 to $2.75 billion by June 2025, with physical holdings now at 33 tonnes, up from 23 tonnes a year earlier.
Even after stripping out “encumbered” funds, money already tied to obligations, Ghana’s usable reserves stood at $8.86 billion as of June, offering around 3.8 months of import cover, compared to just 2.6 months at this time last year.
The trend marks a major turnaround from the low points of 2022 and 2023, when reserves were under severe strain and cedi stability wavered.
With reserves now at their highest level in years, the question for the second half of 2025 is whether this momentum can be maintained, and how much of the current stock might be drawn on to maintain a steady currency, support debt obligations, and manage external pressures.
