Many African countries are pressured by high inflation rates, thus causing
everything to become expensive.
Earlier
this year, some renown economists told Bloomberg that the biggest danger to the
global economy in 2022 is not the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it would be high
inflation. And quite honestly, the projection didn't come as much of a surprise
to analysts at Business Insider Africa. After all, inflation has always been a
major problem here in Africa.
Inflation
is one of the biggest enemies to wealth creation. It silently but consistently
erodes the value of money. Across Africa, it is a constant problem. And even
though many of those it affects are unaware of the damage it can cause, they do
feel its effect in the form of high prices, expensive food items, etc.
In
this article, we shall be focusing on eight most expensive African countries to
live in due to their high inflation rates. But before we proceed to unveil the
list, we have some more information for you about what inflation is all about.
What
is inflation?
According
to Investopedia, inflation occurs when there is a significant decline in the
purchasing power of a currency. It can be measured by the rate at which the
prices of goods and services rose within a particular period. A sharp increase
in the cost of raw materials is often one of the primary causes of inflation. A
surge in demand for goods and services can also trigger an upsurge in prices,
thus leading to high inflation.
Common
trend among countries with high inflation rates
One
trend that is common among African countries with high inflation rates is that
they are mostly import-dependent. When a country imports more than it exports,
it inevitably becomes susceptible to various economic challenges, including
weak exchange rates and high inflation rate which, in turn, makes everything
expensive.
Africa's
most expensive countries due to high inflation
Whereas
inflation is a general problem across the continent, some countries have it
worse. And living in these countries can be quite expensive as you can see in
the list below.
Do
note that we used data derived from very reliable sources, including Statista,
Reuters, Trading Economics, the statistics agencies of different African
countries, etc. Also note that inflation rates are not constant. So, if you are
reading this at a later date, chances are the rates might have changed.
•
Zimbabwe: According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat), this
Southern African country's inflation rate stood at 66.1% as of February 2022.
This makes Zimbabwe the African country with the second highest inflation rate.
•
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's inflation rate rose to 34.7% in March 2022, up from 33.6%
in February this year. This is according to statistics obtained from various
sources, including Trading Economics and the US Department for Agriculture.
•
Angola: According to statistics obtained from Angola's Instituto Nacional de
Estatística, inflation rate in the country increased by 1.565 to 28.56% in
March, up from 27.28% in February. Statista has projected that inflation in the
country would decrease further to 14.9% this year.
•
Zambia: According to Zambia's Central Statistical Office, the inflation rate in
this Southern African increased to 16.1% in March, up from 15.30 in February.
•
Ghana: According to Ghana Statistical Service, Ghana's inflation rate
accelerated to 19.4% in March of 2022, up from 15.7% in February.
•
Sierra Leone: Information obtained Statistics Sierra Leone show that this West
African country's inflation rate accelerated to 17.94% in March of 2022, up
from 15.77% in February.
•
Nigeria: Nigeria's inflation rate jumped to 15.92% in March 2022, up from
15.70% in February. This is according to information made available by the
country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The projection, according to
Statista, is that Nigeria's inflation would eventually reduce to 13.3% before
the year runs out.
Source: Business Insider Africa
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