The government of Ghana has missed its 2024 end-year inflation target of 15%, with the inflation rate for December 2024 rising slightly to 23.8%, up from 23.0% in November. The increase was largely driven by a rise in food prices, marking the fourth consecutive month of inflation increases following a five-month decline.
Food inflation surged from 25.9% in November to 27.8% in December, while non-food inflation saw a slight decrease, dropping from 20.7% to 20.3%.
Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, explained that the year-on-year inflation for December 2024 stood at 23.8%, reflecting the overall price increase of goods and services compared to the same period in 2023.
“In December 2024, average prices of goods and services went up by 23.8%, indicating that on a year-on-year basis, from December 2023 to December 2024, general price levels of goods and services increased by 23.8%,” Professor Annim stated.
He further elaborated on the disaggregation of inflation, noting that the gap between food and non-food inflation was significant, with food inflation at 27.8% and non-food inflation at 20.3% for December 2024. The rise in food inflation from 25.9% to 27.8% contrasted with the slight decline in non-food inflation, which fell by 0.4 percentage points.
Despite this increase in inflation, the government remains focused on efforts to stabilize the economy and address the ongoing challenges in the food and non-food sectors.