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Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 15.93 percent in May 2026, marking the third consecutive monthly increase in the annual inflation rate as food prices continued to pressure household budgets despite the pace of monthly price increases slowing.
The latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday showed that inflation increased from 15.69 percent in April to 15.93 percent in May, extending the recovery that began in March after inflation fell slightly to 15.06 percent in February.
The report showed that the Consumer Price Index increased to 140.7 in May from 138.3 in April, representing a 2.4 point increase in the general price level.
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). That is, 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.”
Although the month-on-month inflation rate slowed, the annual inflation rate continued to show an upward trend, increasing from 15.38 percent in March to 15.69 percent in April before reaching 15.93 percent in May.
“On a year-on-year basis, the general 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 previous year (May 2025). Looking at the movement, the general inflation rate in May 2026 showed an increase of 0.24 percent compared to the general inflation rate in April 2026,” the report read.
However, this latest figure is still far below the 26.06 percent recorded in May 2025, this shows a significant reduction in inflationary pressure compared to the previous year. The NBS noted that the May inflation rate was 0.24 percentage points higher than the 15.69 percent recorded in April.
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Analysis of the inflation basket shows that food and non-alcoholic beverages remain the largest contributor to general inflation, amounting to 6.38 percentage points of the annual inflation rate. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points, transportation contributed 1.70 percentage points, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed 1.34 percentage points.
Educational services contributed 0.99 percentage points to general inflation, followed by health at 0.97 percentage points, and clothing and footwear at 0.80 percentage points. Information and communications, as well as personal care and miscellaneous goods and services, each accounted for 0.52 percentage points.
The report further shows that average inflation for the 12 months ending May 2026 reached 18.36 percent, compared to 30.57 percent recorded in the same period in 2025.
Food prices remained one of the strongest drivers of inflation in the month.
The NBS reported that food inflation reached 16.96 percent year-on-year in May, compared with 24.55 percent in the same month in 2025. On a monthly basis, food inflation fell to 2.98 percent from 3.63 percent recorded in April.
According to the bureau, the increase in food prices was driven by increases in the prices of basic commodities, including shallots, corn, melons, water yams, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh peppers, tomatoes, wheat, cassava roots, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantains and cowpeas.
“The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending May 2026 compared to the average of the previous twelve months was 16.99 percent, which is 16.22 percentage points lower than the average annual rate of change recorded in May 2025 (33.21 percent),” the report said.
The report also shows persistent inflationary pressures outside of food and energy.
Core inflation, excluding agricultural output and volatile energy prices, reached 16.82 percent year-on-year in May, compared with 24.92 percent in May 2025. However, on a monthly basis, core inflation rose sharply to 1.94 percent from 1.03 percent in April.
This shows that price pressures on the broader economy strengthened that month despite a monthly moderation in general and food inflation.
Urban inflation was recorded at 16.07 percent year-on-year in May, while monthly urban inflation rose to 1.99 percent from 1.86 percent in April. The 12-month average urban inflation rate reached 18.27 percent, much lower than the 32.55 percent recorded in the previous year.
In rural areas, inflation reached 15.60 percent year-on-year. Rural monthly inflation slowed significantly to 1.17 percent from 2.80 percent in April, while the 12-month average rural inflation rate decreased to 18.19 percent from 28.36 percent recorded in May 2025.
Further analysis of the report shows that services inflation remained high at 17.92 percent year-on-year and 2.84 percent month-on-month.
Imported food inflation was recorded at 14.60 percent per year and 2.28 percent per month, while goods inflation was recorded at 6.62 percent year on year and 0.73 percent month on month. Energy inflation reached 5.73 percent year on year and 0.72 percent month on month.
At the state level, Yobe recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 24.94 percent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 percent and Sokoto at 22.60 percent.
Niger recorded the lowest annual inflation rate at 3.07 percent, followed by the Highlands at 7.10 percent and Edo at 7.73 percent.
On a monthly basis, Benue recorded the highest increase in general inflation at 8.23 percent, followed by Bayelsa at 7.62 percent and Borno at 7.29 percent.
Niger recorded a decline of 4.55 percent, while Zamfara and Taraba recorded declines of 3.36 percent and 2.67 percent respectively.
The latest figures show that while inflation remains much lower than last year, consumer prices continue to rise, with the annual inflation rate rising for three consecutive months amid continued pressure on the food, services and other core components of the economy as global tensions and insecurity persist.
