West African inflation hits 0% in 2025 as BCEAO presents annual report

The sharp drop from 3.5% last year underscores disinflationary pressures across the UEMOA zone, with individual members like Togo already posting near-zero rates.

By Handelsavisen Newsroom · Automated 2026-07-23 08:53 UTC · 1 min read

Inflation in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) zone averaged 0.0% in 2025, a stark decline from the 3.5% recorded in 2024, according to the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).

BCEAO Governor Jean-Claude Kassi Brou presented the bank’s 2025 annual report on Wednesday, July 22, highlighting the significant cooling of price pressures across the eight-member currency bloc.

The data confirms that the region has moved well below the 3% inflation ceiling established by the UEMOA convergence criteria.

The data confirms that the region has moved well below the 3% inflation ceiling established by the UEMOA convergence criteria.

The aggregate figure aligns with recent national data from member states.

Togo, for instance, reported an annual inflation rate of 0.1% in June 2026, marking the fifth consecutive month at that level.

This persistent low-inflation environment suggests that monetary policy in the zone is currently facing disinflationary rather than inflationary risks.