A Professor of Applied Economics at the Johns Hopkins University, Professor Steve H. Hanke, has questioned the country’s inflation rate of 31.7% recorded in July 2022.

 In ‘Hanke’s Inflation Dashboard’ analysing the inflation rate of 18 countries, Professor Hanke said Ghana’s real inflation rate in July was 77%.

This is 45.3% more than the data released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

According to Hanke’s Inflation Dashboard, Ghana is ranked 6^th in the world in terms of the Consumer Pricing Index (CPI).

Zimbabwe is number one in the world with an inflation rate of 479%, whilst Cuba (135%), Turkey (132%), Sri Lanka (104%) and Lebanon (89%) are 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th respectively.

According to the GSS, the increase in inflation in July 2022 was triggered by Transport (44.6%); Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (43.0%); Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (42.0%); Recreation, Sport and Culture (33.8%); Personal Care, Social Protection and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (33.7%) and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (32.3%).

Indeed, six divisions recorded inflation rates higher than the national average.

For the month-on-month, the inflation rate between June 2022 and July 2022 was 3.1%.