Median inflation across Africa fell to 3.7% in 2025 but is projected to rise to 4.8% in 2026, largely due to spillovers from the Middle East conflict, the World Bank reports.
Median inflation across Africa fell from 4.4% in 2024 to 3.7% in 2025, but is projected to rise to 4.8% in 2026, largely due to spillovers from the Middle East conflict, according to the World Bank's Africa Economic Update.
The forecast frames a continent that had begun to turn the corner on prices now facing renewed external pressure.
The lesson of the data is that African price stability remains hostage to forces well beyond its borders.
The continent's inflation story in 2026 is less about domestic policy than about global geography.
Thabo Nkosi reports on African markets, monetary policy and continental trade.
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