Policy think tank IMANI Africa has raised concerns that Ghana’s recent inflation decline is not being felt evenly across the country.
In its latest report, Criticality Analysis of Governance and Economic Issues (September 29 – October 4, 2025), IMANI said that while the national headline inflation has dropped to 9.4% in September 2025, marking a major macroeconomic achievement, many regions continue to experience high and persistent price pressures.
“Inflation may be falling on paper, but purchasing power remains severely eroded. These regional variations are not random. They stem from long-standing structural weaknesses,” IMANI stated.
Sharpest Disinflation in Recent History
According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), inflation eased to 9.4% in September from 11.5% in August 2025 — the first time in four years that the country has recorded single-digit inflation.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September stood at 258.0, compared to 235.8 a year earlier, reflecting a year-on-year price increase of 9.4%. Month-on-month inflation rose modestly by 0.9%.
This marks the ninth consecutive month of decline since inflation peaked at 23.8% in December 2024, making it one of the steepest disinflationary trends in Ghana’s recent economic history.
The Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, attributed the sustained drop to easing food prices and improved monetary and fiscal coordination.
“The pressures that have driven inflation over the past months are clearly declining,” Dr. Iddrisu said, noting that food inflation fell sharply to 11.0% from 14.8% in August, while non-food inflation eased to 8.2% from 8.7%.
Despite the national success, IMANI Africa warned that the “relief is not being felt evenly.”
The group highlighted wide disparities in regional inflation rates, describing Ghana’s price stability as “regionalized, not uniform.”
In September 2025, for instance, the North East Region recorded an inflation rate of 20.1%, while Bono East posted just 1.2%.
This means that households in the North East are experiencing cost-of-living increases over 16 times higher than those in Bono East.
Earlier in May, when national inflation had dropped to 18.4%, the Upper West Region still faced a staggering 38.1%, reflecting persistent regional price gaps.
IMANI attributed these disparities to deep-rooted structural challenges that limit the impact of national economic policies in certain areas:
• Poor Infrastructure & High Transport Costs: Poor road networks and long supply routes increase the cost and time of transporting goods to northern and rural markets.
• Weak Supply Chains & Market Access: Limited storage facilities and weak market linkages expose regions to seasonal price spikes.
• Climate Vulnerability & Food Dependence: Regions reliant on staple crops suffer sharper price swings during poor harvests or climate disruptions.
IMANI Africa stressed that Ghana’s macroeconomic victory will only be complete when price stability translates into equitable relief for all regions.
“True price stability is not how low the national figure goes, but how evenly relief is shared,” the think tank asserted.
While the drop to single-digit inflation strengthens the outlook for monetary policy stability, exchange rate resilience, and consumer confidence, IMANI cautioned that policymakers must now focus on bridging regional price disparities to make economic recovery inclusive and sustainable.