Africa throughout the year hardly recorded any major improvements across its numerous markets. Price hikes in basic commodities like food and energy defined the year, with economists going as far as predicting a similar or an even worse outcome in 2023.
However, some countries on the continent ended the year with a bit of good news. Economic performances across the continent wavered with some ending the year on a high note, and others recording a less fortunate fate.
If this is any indication, Africa may experience some form of economic recovery in 2023, but this is a highly nuanced situation.
Regardless of how nuanced the projections are, it doesn’t take away the fact that some of Africa’s economy experienced a decline in its inflation rate, following months of incremental surges.
According to data from Trading Economics, a financial data platform, which in turn sourced its data from the National Bureau of statistics of each of the following nations, approximately 17 countries experienced a dip in its inflation rate. Other African countries either experienced an increase in inflation or have not released the data for their inflation report.
Some of the countries listed below showed significant improvements to their economy, while others recorded a marginal improvement to their economy.
Below are 17 of these countries and how much success they experienced in the last month of 2022.
Angola: Angola inflation rate hit its lowest since 2015. Angola’s annual inflation rate eased for the 11th straight month to 13.86% in December of 2022 from 15.24% in the previous month. It was the lowest reading since November of 2015, amid a stable kwanza during the month. On a monthly basis, consumer prices inched up by 0.87%, the most in seven months, after increasing by 0.82% in the prior month.
Namibia: The annual inflation rate in Namibia eased for the second straight month to 6.9% in December of 2022, from 7% in the prior month. It was the lowest reading since July of 2022, largely due to a slowdown in prices of transportation (14.8% vs 18.3% in November), namely public transportation services (1.4% vs 7.1%).
Niger: The annual inflation rate in Niger eased to 3.1% in December 2022, from 3.5% in the previous month.
Mozambique: The annual inflation rate in Mozambique eased for the fourth straight month to 10.91% in December of 2022, from 11.25% in the previous month. This was the lowest reading since June of 2022, amid a generalized slowdown in prices of goods and services, including food & non-alcoholic beverages.
Burkina Faso: The annual inflation rate in Burkina Faso eased sharply to 9.6% in December 2022, from 12.2% in the previous month.
Cape Verde: The annual inflation rate in Cape Verde eased for the fifth month running to 7.6% in December of 2022, down from 8% in November and a 14-year high of 9% in July. It was the softest inflation reading since April 2022, largely due to a slowdown in prices of food & non-alcoholic beverages.
Ethiopia: The annual inflation rate in Ethiopia softened to 33.8% in December of 2022, from a six-month high of 35.1% in the previous month. Food inflation eased a bit (32.9% vs 34.2% in November), thanks to the decrease in prices of most cereal products as well as edible oil, meat, milk and eggs.
Kenya: Kenya’s inflation rate slowed for the second consecutive month to 9.1% in December 2022, the lowest since August, compared to 9.5% in November. The YoY increase was mainly attributed to rising costs of food and non-alcoholic beverages (13.8%), namely maize grain-loose and fortified maize flour; transport (13.0%), namely country bus; and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (6.2%).
Nigeria: The annual inflation rate in Nigeria eased to 21.34% in December of 2022, down slightly from a 17-year peak of 21.47% in the prior month. It follows ten consecutive months of monthly increases amid a slight deceleration in prices of food (23.75% vs 24.13% in November), which is the most relevant in the CPI basket. Prices also rose less for alcoholic beverages, tobacco and kola (18.10% vs 18.48%); clothing & footwear (17.55% vs 17.66%); recreation & culture (15.74% vs 16.61%) and communication (11.2% vs 11.54%).
South Africa: South Africa’s annual inflation rate was 7.2% in December of 2022, down from 7.4% in the prior month, as expected, but still above the upper limit of the South African Reserve Bank’s target range of 3%-6%. It was the softest reading since last May, as prices continued to slow down primarily for transportation (13.9% vs 15.3% in November), of which fuels (22.8% vs 25.3%).
Sudan: Inflation Rate in Sudan decreased to 87.30 percent in December from 88.80 percent in November of 2022.
Tanzania: The annual inflation rate in Tanzania eased marginally to 4.8% in December of 2022, from a five-year high of 4.9% in the previous month. In Tanzania, the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) measures the change over time in the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services that are purchased by a representative sample of households.
Rwanda: The annual inflation rate in Rwanda softened to 31.7% in December of 2022, from a peak of 33.8% in the previous month. Prices slowed primarily for food & non-alcoholic beverages (59.2% vs 64.5% in November), namely vegetables (91.2% vs 99.1%) and bread & cereals (52.3% vs 58.3%); housing & utilities (13.1% vs 14.6%); furnishings & household equipment (16.1% vs 17.8%) and transportation (9.9% vs 10.6%).
Senegal: The annual inflation rate in Senegal eased to 12.8 percent in December 2022, from a record-high since at least 2006 of 14.1 percent in the previous month. It was the first slowdown in consumer prices since March, as costs rose at a slower pace for food and non-alcoholic beverages (18.8 percent vs 21.4 percent in November) and transport (2.2 percent vs 2.6 percent). On a monthly basis, consumer prices fell by 1 percent, following a 0.2 percent gain a month earlier.
Seychelles: The annual inflation rate in Seychelles eased for the third straight month to 2.53% in December of 2022 from 2.62% in the previous month. It was the lowest inflation rate since June, amid slowing prices for non-food products (2.44% vs 2.61% in November), namely transportation (0.29% vs 1.74%); and other food, excluding fresh fish (2.49% vs 2.52%), mostly oils & fats (11.79% vs 15.33%).
Togo: Inflation Rate in Togo decreased to 7.70 percent in December from 8.70 percent in November of 2022. In Togo, the main components of the Consumer Price Index are: Food & Non-alcoholic Beverages (32%), Restaurants & Hotels (15%), and Housing & Utilities (12%).
Uganda: Uganda’s annual inflation edged down to a three-month low of 10.2% in December 2022 compared to November’s 10.6%. Prices slowed for transport (1.5% vs 5.1% in November); furnishings, household equipment and routine household (14.3% vs 15.1%); and alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics (8.0% vs 8.7%).
