A financial conditions index for Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper constructs a monthly Financial Conditions Index (FCI) for Sub-Saharan Africa for 2019–2025, combining domestic and global financial indicators. The index captures co-movement in regional financial conditions, from COVID-era easing to post-2023 tightening and a recent easing in financial conditions after the April 2025 ‘Liberation Day’. Panel estimates show that the composite FCI predicts short-term economic activity, beyond what is captured by its individual components. The FCI thus provides a high-frequency tool for tracking domestic and external drivers of regional financial conditions and macro-financial risks in a data-constrained region.