Ghana’s inflation rate surged past its 21-year record high in August as its annual inflation rate climbed to 37.2 per cent in September from 33.9 recorded in August 2022.

On Wednesday, the Government Statistician of Ghana, Samuel Kobina Annim, disclosed to journalists that the Ghana Statistical Services would change the reference year from 2018 to 2021 and update historical figures.

The figures are the highest inflation reading since August 2001, despite the Bank of Ghana holding an emergency meeting in August and raising its benchmark interest rate to a record-high of 22 per cent. 

A Bloomberg report noted that the country’s currency, the cedi, depreciated by more than 30 per cent since the beginning of the year as Ghana struggles to check skyrocketing prices caused partly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In June, Ghanaians took to the streets, protesting the price surge and the high cost of living. In July, the Ghanaian government initiated a 15 per cent cost of living allowance for civil servants in the country.