Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May 2026, extending a steady upward trend for the third consecutive month, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The new figure represents an increase from 15.69 percent recorded in April and 15.38 percent in March, signaling persistent price pressures across key sectors of the economy despite a slower pace of monthly increases.
Data from the NBS showed that the CPI rose to 140.7 in May from 138.3 in April, a 2.4-point increase, reflecting a continued rise in the general price level.
On a month-on-month basis, however, inflation eased to 1.75 percent in May, down from 2.13 percent in April, indicating a moderation in the rate of price increases.
According to the NBS, “In May 2026, the headline inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was 1.75 percent, which was 0.39 percent lower than the rate recorded in April 2026 (2.13 percent). This means that in May 2026, the rate of increase in the average price level was lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in April 2026.”
The bureau added, “On a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 percent, up from 15.69 percent in April 2026 and down from 26.06 percent in the same month of the preceding year (May 2025). Looking at the movement, the May 2026 Headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.24 percent compared to the April 2026 Headline inflation rate.”
Despite the recent increases, inflation remains significantly below the 26.06 percent recorded in May 2025, suggesting an overall easing from last year’s peak levels.
A breakdown of the inflation basket shows that food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest driver, contributing 6.38 percentage points to headline inflation. Restaurants and accommodation services followed at 2.06 percentage points, while transport accounted for 1.70 percentage points.
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels contributed 1.34 percentage points, while education and health services added 0.99 and 0.97 percentage points, respectively. Clothing and footwear contributed 0.80 percentage points, with information and communication, as well as personal care and miscellaneous goods, each contributing 0.52 percentage points.
Food inflation remained elevated at 16.96 percent year-on-year in May, down from 24.55 percent in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, food inflation slowed to 2.98 percent from 3.63 percent in April.
The NBS attributed the increase in food prices to higher costs of staple items, including onions, maize, cassava products, yams, tomatoes, pepper, plantain, and cowpea.
“The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending May 2026 over the previous twelve-month average was 16.99 percent, which was 16.22 percentage points lower compared with the average annual rate of change recorded in May 2025 (33.21 percent),” the report stated.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 16.82 percent year-on-year, down from 24.92 percent a year earlier. However, on a monthly basis, it rose sharply to 1.94 percent from 1.03 percent in April, indicating stronger underlying price pressures.
Services inflation remained high at 17.92 percent year-on-year and 2.84 percent month-on-month, reflecting rising costs in key service sectors.
Urban inflation was recorded at 16.07 percent year-on-year, with monthly urban inflation rising to 1.99 percent. In rural areas, inflation stood at 15.60 percent year-on-year, while monthly rural inflation slowed significantly to 1.17 percent.
The 12-month average inflation rate for the period ending May 2026 stood at 18.36 percent, compared with 30.57 percent in the corresponding period of 2025.
State-level data showed wide disparities. Yobe recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 24.94 percent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 percent and Sokoto at 22.60 percent. Niger recorded the lowest rate at 3.07 percent, with Plateau and Edo at 7.10 percent and 7.73 percent, respectively.
On a month-on-month basis, Benue recorded the highest increase at 8.23 percent, followed by Bayelsa at 7.62 percent and Borno at 7.29 percent. In contrast, Niger, Zamfara and Taraba recorded declines.
Food inflation also varied sharply across states. Adamawa recorded the highest annual food inflation at 29.62 percent, followed by Kwara and Rivers. Borno recorded food deflation, while Taraba and Bayelsa saw the slowest increases.
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