Household final consumer prices rose 7.4% in 2023, driven mainly by household
food products that climbed by 11.1%.
For the record, this is the third time in 29 years that Cameroon has experienced such a high inflation rate after 32.5% and 9.0% respectively in 1994 and 1995 following the 50% devaluation of the CFA Franc on January 11, 1994. Food prices and transport costs have mainly contributed to this inflationary surge. Over the last three years 2021 to 2023, cumulative inflation has reached 16.7%; resulting from a sharp increase in consumer prices in 2022 and 2023, after more than a decade of stability between 2009 and 2021 during which the inflation rate did not exceed 3%. For the year 2023, this inflation stems from various factors, both domestic and international: At the national level, the reduction of subsidies on hydrocarbon prices, climate disruptions and security challenges, particularly in the North-West and South-West regions, have contributed to fuelling inflation. At the international level, tensions related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuations in the CFA franc against the US dollar and the development of the El Niño1 phenomenon (which causes droughts, floods and natural disasters) were the main contributors to inflation. However, the international community has worked to bring down inflation, with the restoration of the efficiency of international supply chains, the decline in global commodity prices and transportation costs, and the adoption of restrictive monetary policy by most central banks. As a result, the prices of local products increased by 8.1% compared to those of imported products, which rose by 5.6%. Taking into account the 15% readjustment of pump prices as of 1 February 2024 and geopolitical uncertainties, particularly the persistent tensions in the Middle East two years after the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the inflation rate is expected to remain around 7% in 2024