Inflation

Tanzania Inflation Rate in 2023

In the first three months of 2023, Tanzania’s annual headline inflation rate was 4.9% in January, 4.8% in February, and 4.7% in March.

Inflation in Mainland Tanzania eased for the third month in a row to 4.3% in April 2023, remaining below the target of 5.4% for 2022-2023.

In Zanzibar, inflation rose to 7.5% in April 2023 from 7.1% in March 2023, remaining above the medium-term target of 5%, largely due to an increase in the prices of food.

Tanzania Inflation Rate in 2022

In 2022 (January to December) the average annual headline inflation in Tanzania was 4.3%. In 2021 it was 3.7% and 3.3% in 2020.

However, the trend is clearly upward, with annual inflation reaching a five-years in October 2022 at a rate of 4.9% and slightly going down only in December 2022 at 4.8%.

Still, it remains within the target range of 3.0%-5.0% over the medium term included in the Tanzania Five-Year Development Plan (FYDP III).

It also falls below the EAC inflation target of 8% and the SADC region which ranges between 3% and 7%.

In 2022, food inflation reached 7.3% versus 4.2% in 2021, while non-food inflation slightly fell to 3.2% from 3.5%.

Tanzania Inflation Rates in 2022 vs 2021

Tanzania Inflation Rates in 2021

In 2021, the average annual headline inflation in Tanzania was 3.7% versus 3.3% in 2020.

The headline inflation declined dramatically in the last decade, from an annual average of 16% in 2012 to 3.7% in 2021.

Generally, the fall has been on account of improved food supply in the domestic market and neighboring countries, stability of global oil prices, and prudent fiscal and monetary policies.

The increase in inflation from 2020 to 2021 is mainly attributed to an increase in core inflation to 4.1% from an average of 2.3% recorded in 2020.

However, the annual average inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages has decreased to 4.2 % in 2021 from 4.8% recorded in 2020.

The annual average inflation rate for all items without food and non-alcoholic beverages in 2021 has also decreased to 3.5% from 3.7% in 2020.

In 2021, the lowest inflation rate was 3.2% noted in March and the highest rate was 4.2% in December 2021.

Latest update: 28th May 2023

Sources: Bank of Tanzania (BOT, Tanzania National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Tanzania Ministry of Finance, World Bank (WB).