Top 10 African Countries With Highest Inflation Rate, 2017

Fuelled partly by exchange rate depreciations and widening fiscal deficits, average inflation across Africa stood at 7.2Pct in 2017, increasing from 5.6Pct in 2016, according to the African Trade Report published by the African Export-Import Bank in July 2018. However, there was wide variation across countries. For instance, inflation remained high in several economic giants such as Egypt, Nigeria and Angola. On the other hand, countries like Swaziland, Mali and Cameroon exhibited the lowest inflation rates in 2017. On a regional level, average inflation in northern Africa increased from 5.1Pct in 2016 to 8.9Pct in 2017, while in southern Africa, it declined from 9.4Pct in 2016 to 8.5Pct in 2017. Average inflation in central Africa and western Africa regions also increased to 8.1Pct and 5.8Pct in 2017, respectively. In the eastern Africa, where Ethiopia is located, average inflation also increased to 6.1Pct in 2017 from five percent in the previous year. The rise of food prices, especially in Kenya (the largest economy in the region), due to the drought that badly affected maize harvests, was mentioned by the report as the cause for chronic shortages and price hikes. In Ethiopia, inflation stood at 8.1Pct in 2017, up from the previous year’s figure of 7.26Pct.

^{Source: African Trade Report, 2018}