Central African Rep. (Bangui)
Official title
Indice des prix à la consommation (Consumer Price Index).
Scope
The index is compiled monthly and covers all urban households
whose head is a wage earner or salaried employee residing in
Bangui.
Official base
1981 = 100.
Source of weights
The weights and selected items were derived from a household expenditure
survey conducted during 1975-76. The survey covered the whole country,
divided into six regions representing the major geographical areas. The
size of the sample was 1,530 budgetary units. The index relates to
households in Bangui. The weights were not adjusted to take into
account price changes between the survey period and 1981.
Weights and composition
| Major groups
| Number of items
| Weights
| Approximate number of price quotations
|
| Food
| 76 | 705 | 585
|
| Clothing and footwear
| 14 | 85 | 30
|
| Manufactured products
| 43 | 76 | 61
|
| Fuel and light
| 7 | 73 | 43
|
| Services
| 20 | 61 | 33
|
| Total
| 160 | 1000 | 752
|
Household consumption expenditure
Consumption expenditure for the purpose of the index includes all
goods and services purchased by the index population. It
excludes income taxes, social security contributions, interest on
debts, insurance premiums, the purchase or construction of
housing, the purchase of furniture and furnishings, major
expenditures for property maintenance, and products produced
by the household for its own consumption.
Method of data collection
Prices are collected by specialised agents from a representative
sample of 37 retail stores (large and small) for manufactured
products, and from four markets for food. Prices for
manufactures products are collected during the second week of
each month, while those of food items are collected during the
first and second weeks of each month. Unmarked prices in
markets are ascertained by consulting the seller and by weighing
the products. Prices for electricity, gasoline and gas are
obtained from the relevant authorities and reflect the official
price schedules.
Housing
Rent data are obtained once a month for dwellings with three rooms.
Specification of varieties
There are detailed specifications for each item, based on
standard units of measurement (&eg cup, bucket, bundle, bag,
unit, litre, kilogramme, etc.).
Substitution, quality change, etc.
If a product is no longer available in an outlet, either an item
similar to the original is substituted, or another
item is chosen and assigned a fictitious base price.
Seasonal items
The prices of seasonal items are not adjusted.
Computation
The index is computed according to the Laspeyres formula as a
weighted arithmetic average with fixed base, using weights
corresponding to the period 1975-76. The average price is
the simple arithmetic mean of prices observed at the various
outlets.
Other information
A consumer price index for technical assistance families is also
calculated by the Division de la statistiqiue.
Organisation and publication
Division de la statistique et des études économiques: Lettres
mensuelles de la statistique
(Bangui).
Idem: Bulletin trimestriel
.
Idem: Annuaire statistique
.