By Ejike Ikezuagu – UK.
The United Kingdom’s cost‑of‑living crisis is tightening its grip on millions, but for Africans, the pressure is becoming unbearable. From skyrocketing rent to rising food prices and transport costs, many families say the UK is becoming “unrecognisable” compared to the country they arrived in.
For families already juggling immigration fees, childcare, remittances, and long working hours, the crisis is not just an economic issue, it is a daily survival battle.
Across London, Birmingham, Manchester, and other cities with large African populations, rent has risen by 20–35% in the last two years.
Many families now spend over half of their income just to keep a roof over their heads, Chief Patrick Agbaranze said.
Shared accommodations that once cost £450–£550 per month now go for £700–£900, forcing families to downsize or relocate far from their workplaces. For many, the dream of stability in the UK is slipping away.
Staple foods that Africans rely on, rice, yam, plantain, garri, palm oil, have doubled in price. A bag of rice that once cost £18 now sells for £30–£35. A tuber of yam that used to be £4 is now £7–£10.
African parents say they now calculate every meal, every ingredient, every shopping trip. The crisis is reshaping the African dining table.
Oyster fares, petrol prices, and bus passes have all increased. For many families working in care, security, cleaning, and hospitality jobs that require long commutes, transport now eats deeply into their wages.
Some workers are choosing between, paying for transport, or sending money home, or buying groceries. This is the new reality.
While the cost of living rises, immigration fees remain some of the highest in the world. A family of four renewing visas can spend £10,000–£14,000 in one cycle, before even thinking about ILR.
For many Africans, the UK is now a place where, you work to pay rent, pay bills, pay visas and work to send money home. The pressure is relentless.
Interviews by OgeneNews across the diaspora reveal the same message. Africans feel squeezed, unseen, and disproportionately affected.
Mrs Florence Peng, a Nigerian care worker in Kent said: “I work six days a week, but I still can’t save. Everything is going up except my salary.”
A student in London added: “My rent went up by £300. I’m working two jobs just to survive.”. These stories are becoming the norm.
Mr. Olu Bankole said, beyond the numbers, the crisis is affecting mental health. Africans often carry responsibilities across two continents, UK bills and Nigerian family expectations. The pressure is creating, burnout, depression, financial anxiety, family tension
Many suffer in silence because “Africans don’t complain, we endure”, he stated.
A Nigerian UK economic expert, Mr. Bright Ude, while interacting with OgeneNews warned:
“If the crisis continues, more Africans will fall into debt, more families will move out of major cities, more workers will take on unsafe levels of overtime, more students will struggle to complete their studies”.
OgeneNews gathered that UK remains full of opportunity, but the cost of accessing that opportunity is rising faster than wages. The cost‑of‑living crisis is not just an economic headline. For Africans in the UK, it is a daily reality, reshaping dreams, families, and futures.
This story is not about statistics , it is about people who came to the UK to build a better life, but now find themselves fighting just to stay afloat.
