By Martin Lubasi
Zambia has been mentioned among two other African countries demonstrating a trend of economic recovery, with notable improvements in the inflation rate and the appreciation of the currencies against major convertible currencies.
The story carried in Businesses Insider, quoting Bloomberg, highlighted Zambia’s reported decrease in the inflation rate to 9.4 percent, the first single digit figure in three years, which has been aided by currency appreciation and increased copper revenues.
Business Insider also named Zimbabwe and Ghana as having experienced something similar to Zambia, with the former achieving a single-digit rate for the first time in two decades due to strict monetary policies and currency reforms.
”Also, Ghana witnessed a similar recovery trajectory, with its inflation decreasing and currency strengthening driven by strategic economic measures,” the story stated in part.
For Zambia, Business Insider stated that compared to last month, when Zambia boasted an inflation rate of 11.2%, its current consumer price index sits at 9.4%, marking the first time since 2023 that the country has reported a single-digit inflation.
The media institution stated that in previous years, Zambia and the countries mentioned, encountered considerable economic challenges, but had begun the new year with amazing economic gains.
The story headlined “Zambia joins the ranks of Africa’s beaten-down economies, now recording huge wins
Zambia joins the ranks of Africa’s beaten-down economies, now recording huge wins”, hailed the country’s inflation recovery that was driven by the Kwacha’s 16 percent appreciation against the United States dollar.
”The country’s acting Statistician-General Sheila Mudenda revealed that the central bank’s restrictions on foreign-currency use in domestic transactions fuelled the currency gain, after relaying to reporters in Lusaka, what the country’s inflation for January was,” the story stated in part. “Additionally, copper, which constitutes 70% of Zambia’s exports and a quarter of government revenue, bolstered the economic gain, as copper prices soared to record highs. The annual rate of food inflation decreased to 10.9% in January, a reduction from 12.9% recorded in the previous month. The increase in non-food prices also decelerated, slowing to 7.3% from 8.7% in December.”
For Zimbabwe, a few weeks back it was reported that the country had reached a single-digit inflation for the first time in two decades.
”In a similar twist, the gain was propelled by stricter monetary policies, ameliorated supply chain conditions, and comparative stability within foreign exchange markets,” the story stated in part. “Zimbabwe’s dollar inflation rate (ZiG) decreased to 4.1% in January, down from 15% in December and 19% in November 2025. After numerous setbacks resulted in hyperinflation that wiped away savings and forced Zimbabwe to use the US dollar in 2009, the Southern African country has spent more than ten years trying to develop a workable national currency. Launched in April 2024, its modern endeavor, the ZiG (Zimbabwe Gold), already contributes to about 40% of daily transactions.
”With a parallel-market premium of almost 20%, Oxford Economics specialists assert that the ZiG, which is partially backed by gold, has remained stable in official markets.”
As for Ghana, the inflation figure for September last year came to 9.4 percent compared to 11.5 the previous month, the country’s first single-digit inflation since 2021.
”Inflation for Ghana was a stunning 23.8% in December 2024, which had peaked at 54% in December 2022, owing to currency devaluation, supply chain disruptions, and rising global commodity prices. As has been synonymous with the aforementioned countries, Ghana’s economic recovery was largely driven by its currency performance and a spike in gold prices,” the story stated in part. “The currency performance has been consistent since the previous year, with a recent report indicating that Ghana saw a rise in its currency strength even as the year began. The currency growth was significant enough to drive its central bank to inject up to $1 billion into the FX market to stabilize gains.”
