The year-on-year inflation for December 2023 eased to 23.2% from the 26.4% recorded in November 2023.

By this, the government ended the year with an inflation rate below its revised target of 31.3% captured in the 2024 National Budget presented to Parliament in November last year.

According to the figures from the Ghana Statistical Service, food inflation drove down the overall inflation with a rate of 28.7% in December 2023, compared with 32.2% in November 2023. The non-food inflation also went down to 18.7% in December 2023 from 21.7% in November 2023.

Inflation for locally produced items stood at 23.8% in December 2023, whilst inflation for imported items was 21.9%.

Six divisions record inflation higher than national average

Six divisions recorded inflation rates higher than the national average.

They are Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics (38.2%); Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (31.1%); Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (28.7%); Restaurants and Accommodation Services (28.0%); Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (26.9%) and Recreation, Sports and Culture (24.9%).

Nine out of 15 Sub-Class register inflation higher than overall food inflation

For Food inflation, nine out of 15 Sub-Class registered inflation above the overall food inflation of 28.7%.

They included Cocoa Drinks (73.1%); Tea and related products (67.8%); Vegetables, Tubers, Plantain, Cooking, Banana and Pulses (33.8%) and Coffee and coffee substitutes (32.8%).

Eastern region recorded highest inflation of 35.9%

For the regions, Eastern Region (35.9%) recorded the highest rate of inflation followed by the Western (34.3%) and Western North (33.7%) regions.

Nine regions (Eastern {35.9%}, Western {34.3%), Western North {33.7%}, Northern {31.9%}, Volta {31.8%}, Upper East {30.0%}, North East {28.0%}, Bono {27.4%), and Upper West {25.7%}) recorded rates higher than the national average (26.4%).