Ghana’s Interest Rate 2nd Highest In The World

Ghana has the second highest interest rate in the whole world, a report by tradingeconomics has said.

Ghana came second on a list of 150 countries with an interest rate of 26%. Ghana’s central Bank recently adjusted the policy rate upwards by 100 base points from 25% to the current 26%.

Malawi topped the list with an interest rate of 27%. At the bottom of the list, with -0.75%, is Switzerland, having the least interest rate in the world.

Business groups and organisations have had cause to complain ad nauseum about high interest rates in Ghana. Recently, the paramount chief of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, Okyenhene Amoatia Ofori Panin II chastised universal banks in Ghana for charging exorbitant interest rates at the detriment of the poor. He said the current 26% policy rate set by the Bank of Ghana was “genocidal and criminal.”

“I’ll appeal to the Bank of Ghana to review it,” he told Kasapa FM’s Benjamin Amuzu, adding: “If you peg your profit at that margin how will it be possible for a startup company to pay? They should make it moderate. I’ll appeal to the government and the Central Bank to review it. They need to bring it real down for businesses.”

Below is the full list:

Interest Rate

World Last Previous Highest Lowest Unit Reference Frequency
1 Malawi 27.00 25.00 75.53 13.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
2 Ghana 26.00 25.00 27.50 12.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
3 Argentina 25.12 25.12 1,389.88 1.20 percent Oct-15 Daily
4 Belarus 25.00 25.00 480.00 10.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
5 Gambia 23.00 23.00 34.00 12.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
6 Ukraine 22.00 30.00 300.00 6.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
7 Venezuela 21.35 20.37 83.73 12.79 percent Oct-15 Daily
8 Iran 21.00 14.00 21.00 10.00 percent Dec-15 Yearly
9 Haiti 20.00 15.00 31.00 7.00 percent Oct-15 Daily
10 Moldova 19.50 19.50 21.00 3.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
11 Uganda 17.00 17.00 23.00 11.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
12 Burundi 16.23 14.75 16.24 6.50 percent Aug-15 Daily
13 Kazakhstan 16.00 5.50 300.00 5.50 percent Oct-15 Daily
14 Zambia 15.50 12.50 15.50 9.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
15 Sudan 15.10 12.50 17.30 9.30 percent Sep-15 Daily
16 Afghanistan 15.00 15.00 21.00 12.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
17 Yemen 15.00 15.00 25.00 10.00 percent Jan-15 Daily
18 Brazil 14.25 14.25 45.00 7.25 percent Nov-15 Daily
19 Liberia 13.60 13.70 20.30 13.02 percent Jun-15 Daily
20 Mongolia 13.00 13.00 14.00 6.40 percent Sep-15 Daily
21 Djibouti 12.70 11.90 12.70 8.50 percent Dec-14 Daily
22 Seychelles 12.55 12.47 12.55 2.81 percent Nov-15 Daily
23 Suriname 12.28 11.98 40.18 8.90 percent Dec-14 Daily
24 Tanzania 12.00 12.00 21.42 3.70 percent Jul-15 Daily
25 Zimbabwe 11.86 11.94 16.04 9.50 percent Jul-15 Daily
26 Kenya 11.50 10.00 84.67 0.83 percent Nov-15 Daily
27 Guinea 11.00 11.00 22.25 9.00 percent Oct-15 Daily
28 Nigeria 11.00 13.00 13.00 6.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
29 Russia 11.00 11.00 17.00 5.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
30 Angola 10.50 10.50 150.00 8.75 percent Dec-15 Daily
31 Kyrgyzstan 10.00 8.00 13.73 2.64 percent Oct-15 Daily
32 Lebanon 10.00 10.00 30.00 10.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
33 Myanmar 10.00 10.00 12.00 10.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
34 Sao Tome and Principe 10.00 10.00 29.50 10.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
35 Armenia 9.75 10.25 10.50 6.75 percent Nov-15 Daily
36 Sierra Leone 9.50 9.50 27.00 9.50 percent Oct-15 Daily
37 Uruguay 9.25 9.25 10.00 5.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
38 Ecuador 9.22 9.11 72.60 7.31 percent Nov-15 Daily
39 Mauritania 9.00 9.00 18.00 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
40 Uzbekistan 9.00 9.00 300.00 9.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
41 Egypt 8.75 8.75 21.40 8.25 percent Nov-15 Daily
42 Madagascar 8.70 9.50 33.00 7.00 percent Oct-15 Daily
43 Mozambique 8.25 7.75 16.50 7.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
44 Tajikistan 8.00 8.00 18.06 4.80 percent Sep-15 Daily
45 Cape Verde 7.50 7.50 10.50 6.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
46 Georgia 7.50 7.00 12.00 3.75 percent Nov-15 Daily
47 Indonesia 7.50 7.50 12.75 5.75 percent Nov-15 Daily
48 Turkey 7.50 7.50 500.00 4.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
49 Bangladesh 7.25 7.25 8.75 4.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
50 Maldives 7.00 7.00 7.00 4.46 percent Sep-15 Daily
51 Nepal 7.00 7.00 8.00 5.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
52 India 6.75 7.25 14.50 4.25 percent Dec-15 Daily
53 Namibia 6.50 6.50 10.50 5.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
54 Rwanda 6.50 6.50 9.00 6.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
55 Vietnam 6.50 6.50 15.00 4.80 percent Sep-15 Daily
56 Honduras 6.25 6.50 9.00 3.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
57 Lesotho 6.25 6.25 20.42 5.18 percent Mar-15 Daily
58 Papua New Guinea 6.25 6.25 16.00 6.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
59 South Africa 6.25 6.00 23.99 5.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
60 Bhutan 6.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
61 Botswana 6.00 6.00 15.50 6.00 percent Oct-15 Daily
62 Iraq 6.00 6.00 20.00 6.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
63 Pakistan 6.00 6.50 19.50 6.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
64 Sri Lanka 6.00 6.00 10.50 6.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
65 Iceland 5.75 5.75 18.00 4.25 percent Nov-15 Daily
66 Paraguay 5.75 5.75 8.50 3.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
67 Swaziland 5.75 5.75 11.50 5.00 percent Oct-15 Daily
68 Brunei 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
69 Colombia 5.50 5.25 32.00 3.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
70 Bosnia and Herzegovina 5.34 5.79 94.09 5.34 percent Aug-15 Daily
71 Jamaica 5.25 5.25 33.00 5.25 percent Nov-15 Daily
72 Dominican Republic 5.00 5.00 50.00 1.00 percent Oct-15 Daily
73 Ethiopia 5.00 5.00 11.00 3.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
74 Guyana 5.00 5.00 8.75 5.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
75 Bahamas 4.50 4.50 5.25 4.50 percent Oct-15 Daily
76 Laos 4.50 4.50 35.00 4.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
77 Qatar 4.50 4.50 5.85 1.53 percent Sep-15 Daily
78 Serbia 4.50 4.50 18.00 4.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
79 Trinidad and Tobago 4.50 4.25 8.75 2.75 percent Nov-15 Daily
80 Mauritius 4.40 4.65 9.25 4.65 percent Nov-15 Daily
81 China 4.35 4.60 10.98 4.60 percent Oct-15 Daily
82 El Salvador 4.25 4.29 8.80 1.68 percent Oct-15 Daily
83 Tunisia 4.25 4.75 5.25 3.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
84 Algeria 4.00 4.00 21.00 2.75 percent Sep-15 Daily
85 Philippines 4.00 4.00 56.60 3.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
86 Jordan 3.75 3.75 9.00 2.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
87 Benin 3.50 3.50 4.25 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
88 Burkina Faso 3.50 3.50 4.25 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
89 Guinea Bissau 3.50 3.50 4.25 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
90 Ivory Coast 3.50 3.50 4.25 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
91 Mali 3.50 3.50 4.25 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
92 Niger 3.50 3.50 4.25 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
93 Peru 3.50 3.50 8.90 0.90 percent Nov-15 Daily
94 Senegal 3.50 3.50 4.25 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
95 Togo 3.50 3.50 4.25 3.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
96 Barbados 3.26 2.34 7.80 2.03 percent Nov-15 Daily
97 Chile 3.25 3.25 14.00 0.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
98 Macedonia 3.25 3.25 15.21 3.21 percent Oct-15 Daily
99 Malaysia 3.25 3.25 3.50 2.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
100 Azerbaijan 3.00 3.00 13.00 2.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
101 Guatemala 3.00 3.25 7.25 2.55 percent Nov-15 Daily
102 Libya 3.00 3.00 5.00 3.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
103 Mexico 3.00 3.00 9.25 3.00 percent Nov-15 Daily
104 New Zealand 2.75 2.75 67.32 2.50 percent Oct-15 Daily
105 Belize 2.50 2.73 6.88 2.50 percent Oct-15 Daily
106 Croatia 2.50 2.50 4,290.85 2.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
107 Morocco 2.50 2.50 7.00 2.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
108 Cameroon 2.45 2.45 4.25 2.45 percent Nov-15 Daily
109 Central African Republic 2.45 2.45 4.25 2.45 percent Nov-15 Daily
110 Chad 2.45 2.45 4.25 2.45 percent Nov-15 Daily
111 Equatorial Guinea 2.45 2.45 4.25 2.45 percent Nov-15 Daily
112 Gabon 2.45 2.45 4.25 2.45 percent Nov-15 Daily
113 Republic of the Congo 2.45 2.45 4.25 2.45 percent Nov-15 Daily
114 Bahrain 2.25 2.25 6.80 1.30 percent Sep-15 Daily
115 Costa Rica 2.25 3.00 10.00 2.25 percent Nov-15 Daily
116 Cuba 2.25 2.25 2.25 2.25 percent Sep-15 Daily
117 Australia 2.00 2.00 17.50 2.00 percent Dec-15 Daily
118 Congo 2.00 2.00 70.00 2.00 percent Oct-15 Daily
119 Kuwait 2.00 2.00 7.25 2.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
120 Saudi Arabia 2.00 2.00 7.00 1.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
121 Albania 1.75 2.00 8.50 1.75 percent Nov-15 Daily
122 Romania 1.75 1.75 12.50 1.75 percent Nov-15 Daily
123 Taiwan 1.75 1.88 4.63 1.25 percent Sep-15 Daily
124 Bolivia 1.60 1.82 28.51 0.77 percent Oct-15 Daily
125 Poland 1.50 1.50 24.00 1.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
126 South Korea 1.50 1.50 5.25 1.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
127 Thailand 1.50 1.50 5.00 1.25 percent Nov-15 Daily
128 Cambodia 1.42 1.42 10.70 1.23 percent Aug-15 Daily
129 Comoros 1.38 1.38 8.50 1.38 percent Jul-15 Daily
130 Hungary 1.35 1.35 28.00 1.35 percent Nov-15 Daily
131 Oman 1.00 1.00 5.00 1.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
132 United Arab Emirates 1.00 1.00 4.75 1.00 percent Sep-15 Daily
133 Norway 0.75 0.75 11.00 0.75 percent Nov-15 Daily
134 Canada 0.50 0.50 16.00 0.25 percent Nov-15 Daily
135 Fiji 0.50 0.50 2.50 0.50 percent Oct-15 Daily
136 Hong Kong 0.50 0.50 8.00 0.50 percent Sep-15 Daily
137 Macau 0.50 0.50 8.00 0.50 percent Aug-15 Daily
138 United Kingdom 0.50 0.50 17.00 0.50 percent Nov-15 Daily
139 New Caledonia 0.30 0.30 3.00 0.30 percent Sep-15 Daily
140 United States 0.25 0.25 20.00 0.25 percent Nov-15 Daily
141 Panama 0.24 0.19 5.47 0.18 percent Sep-15 Daily
142 Singapore 0.21 0.23 20.00 -0.75 percent Sep-15 Daily
143 Israel 0.10 0.10 17.00 0.10 percent Nov-15 Daily
144 Czech Republic 0.05 0.05 39.00 0.05 percent Nov-15 Daily
145 Euro Area 0.05 0.05 4.75 0.05 percent Nov-15 Daily
146 Bulgaria 0.01 0.01 5.77 0.01 percent Dec-15 Daily
147 Japan – – 9.00 – percent Nov-15 Daily
148 Sweden -0.35 -0.35 8.91 -0.35 percent Nov-15 Daily
149 Denmark -0.75 -0.75 15.00 -0.75 percent Nov-15 Daily
150 Switzerland -0.75 -0.75 3.50 -0.75 percent Nov-15 Daily

Source: ghnewsnow with files from tradingeconomics.com