The Democratic Republic of the Congo economy is experiencing a significant rate of inflation, which is changing the Congolese purchasing behavior and impacting their cost of living.
The war in Ukraine and the hazardous security situation in the East are among the causes. In this precise context, Target Sarl surveyed the purchasing power issue.

During a webinar organized last Friday, December 16, Serge MUMBU, Target Sarl General Manager, presented the study's results, questioning a representative sample of 1540 Congoleses on their purchasing power.

During the webinar, Serge Mumbu explained that this study crystal-clearly focused on the perceived level of purchasing power and the Government's priority actions to improve the standard of living and expectations for 2023.

This survey used the CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview) method to collect data from November 23 to December 03, 2022. Target Sarl surveyed 8 regions, including Kinshasa, Grand Katanga, Province Orientale, Grand Equateur, North Kivu, South Kivu, Kongo Central, and Grand Kasaï Oriental. The sample was organized into various age groups, including 18 to 24 years old (36%), 25 to 34 years old (25%), 35 to 49 years old (23%), and 50 years old and over (16%).

The study results show that 35% of the people surveyed have testified that their purchasing power has decreased in recent months. The majority of these respondents are men of all age groups.
It is noteworthy that inflation differs from one region to another. In regions where purchasing power has increased, people have expressed their wish to see the state create more jobs to maintain this pace. They also stressed the need to intensify the fight against inflation, fund certain products, reduce institutions' cost of living, and fight against corruption.

As for the purchasing power perception in 2023, in the regions of Kasai, South Kivu, and Province Orientale, some Congolese remain optimistic about their purchasing power in the days ahead. In contrast, 18 to 24-year-olds seem skeptical about improving purchasing power.

The full report and webinar replay are available here:
Report: https://drive.google.com/drive/my-drive
Replay : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1D-DWhdupzN0D5L2vpiYglT2P6HYCsS8L