In Senegal, the labour-cost index for new residential construction rose 51.4% between the third quarters of 2018 and 2026. Over the same period, the overall construction cost index increased 23.5%, while the materials index climbed 14.1%, according to historical series published by the National Agency of Statistics and Demography (ANSD) and linked to the 2022 base year.
The labour index moved from 79.1 in Q3 2018 to 119.7 in Q3 2026, compared with 84.6 to 104.4 for the overall index. Yet the latest quarterly release, posted on 5 November 2026, shows the overall index fell 0.1% between Q2 and Q3 2026. It was still 0.5% higher than a year earlier.
In Linked indices, 2022 = 100
Source: ANSD, linked historical index series (XLSX).
| Labour | Overall CCI | |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 79.1 | 84.6 |
| 2019 | 80.3 | 83.8 |
| 2020 | 86.8 | 85.4 |
| 2021 | 94.3 | 93.3 |
| 2022 | 100.7 | 101.9 |
| 2023 | 107.5 | 101.9 |
| 2024 | 112 | 101.1 |
| 2025 | 115.2 | 103.9 |
| 2026 | 119.7 | 104.4 |
Cheaper materials only partly offset rising labour costs
Construction materials prices fell 0.5% quarter on quarter in Q3 2026. Labour costs rose 0.7%, equipment hire rose 2.3% and site-management costs rose 2.9%. Materials contributed −0.4 percentage point to the overall index change, versus +0.2 point from labour, according to ANSD’s table.
Among basic materials, sand prices dropped 10.4% over the quarter, ordinary cement fell 0.4% and reinforcing steel declined 0.2%. Gravel prices, by contrast, increased 1.6%. Over one year, materials fell 0.9%, while labour costs rose 4.0% and equipment hire 5.0%.
In %
Select a bar to see its details.
Source: Bi Finances calculations from historical series ANSD (XLSX), 2022 = 100.
| Category | % |
|---|---|
| Labour | 51.4 |
| Equipment hire | 37.8 |
| Overall index | 23.5 |
| Site management | 22.8 |
| Materials | 14.1 |
Change in cost indices, not the increase in any individual worker’s wages.
Fuel prices push up site-management costs
The 2.9% quarterly increase in site-management costs partly reflects a 4.5% rise in fuel and lubricant prices. ANSD cites pump-price increases implemented on 15 August 2026: petrol rose from CFAF920 to CFAF990 per litre and diesel from CFAF680 to CFAF755. The domestic electricity tariff measure in the survey fell 5.0%.
Within the labour component, quarterly pay-cost increases were recorded for steel fixers (+2.3%), painters (+2.2%), general labourers (+1.4%) and masons (+0.5%), while the tilers’ subcategory fell 0.3%.
A price index covering five Senegalese zones
The national Construction Cost Index (CCI) measures costs of new residential buildings using a Laspeyres-type method. Its basket includes 101 varieties tracked in five zones represented by Dakar, Saint-Louis, Diourbel, Kaolack and Kolda. Weights are derived from estimated quantities and bills of costs for representative housing types.
The 2018–2026 changes were recalculated from ANSD’s official spreadsheet containing historical indices linked to the 2022 base. They measure the evolution of comparable cost-index components, not wage growth for any individual worker or the selling price of a finished home.