On Sept. 4, 2003, Standard&Poor's Ratings Services assigned its 'B+/B' sovereign credit ratings to the Republic of Ghana. The outlook is stable. With this new rating, Standard&Poor's now rates 96 sovereign governments. The ratings on Ghana are constrained by: High general government debt, estimated at 97% of GDP in 2003. Ghana's external debt is mostly long-term and concessional, and will decline significantly when the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative is implemented. However, the domestic debt burden is significant, as it is mostly short-term and at high rates of interest. Interest payments should account for nearly 28% of general government revenues in 2003. A low level of economic development, with per capita GDP estimated at $374
