Ghana Cedi Best-Performing Currency in Africa for 2025 – IMF
By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi
The Ghana cedi has emerged as Africa’s best-performing currency in 2025, according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) analysed across more than 20 major economies on the continent.
The IMF data, shows that the cedi appreciated by more than 40 per cent against the US dollar over the course of 2025, placing it ahead of all other African currencies covered in the assessment. This performance makes the cedi the strongest currency on the continent in terms of annual dollar appreciation, marking a significant turnaround from the sharp depreciation pressures it faced in previous years.
The findings come amid earlier reports by some international news agencies and global financial institutions that had ranked the Ghana cedi as the fourth-best-performing currency in Africa during parts of the year. However, the IMF’s latest assessment, based on a full-year review of exchange rate data, suggests that the cedi ultimately outperformed its peers to take the top position by the end of 2025.
Market analysts and policymakers have largely attributed the currency’s strong performance to a combination of tight monetary policy, fiscal consolidation efforts, and structural reforms implemented under Ghana’s IMF-supported programme. These measures, they argue, helped restore investor confidence, stabilise market expectations, and improve foreign exchange inflows.
A key pillar supporting the cedi in 2025 was the strengthening of Ghana’s external buffers. By the end of the year, the Bank of Ghana had built international reserves of nearly US$14 billion, significantly improving the country’s ability to meet external obligations and intervene in the foreign exchange market when necessary. The accumulation of reserves has been widely viewed as a critical factor in anchoring currency stability and reducing speculative pressures.
In addition to reserve accumulation, improved coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities, disciplined public spending, and enhanced foreign exchange management frameworks have also been cited as contributing to the cedi’s recovery. Export earnings, particularly from gold and cocoa, alongside inflows from remittances and multilateral support, provided further backing to the local currency.
Despite the strong performance, analysts caution that sustaining currency gains will require continued policy discipline. Sources indicate that the Bank of Ghana is considering additional measures in 2026 aimed at consolidating the cedi’s stability, deepening market confidence, and safeguarding against external shocks, including global interest rate volatility and commodity price fluctuations.
The IMF’s assessment positions Ghana as a notable outlier in a year when many African currencies remained under pressure from tight global financial conditions, elevated debt servicing costs, and subdued capital inflows. For Ghana, the cedi’s performance in 2025 is being seen not only as a currency success story, but also as a broader signal of improving macroeconomic stability following years of stress.
