NEWS
Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Rises to 15.93% in May as Food Prices Continue to Pressure Households
Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May 2026, marking the third consecutive month of increases and signaling that the pressure of rising consumer prices remains a major concern for households across the country.
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday revealed that inflation climbed from 15.69 per cent in April to 15.93 per cent in May, extending an upward trend that began in March after a brief decline to 15.06 per cent in February.
Despite a moderation in the pace of monthly price increases, Nigerians continued to grapple with higher costs of food, transportation, housing, healthcare, and other essential goods and services.
According to the report, the Consumer Price Index increased from 138.3 points in April to 140.7 points in May, reflecting a 2.4-point rise in the overall price level across the economy.
Explaining the latest figures, the NBS stated:
“In May 2026, the Headline inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was 1.75 per cent, which was 0.39 per cent lower than the rate recorded in April 2026 (2.13 per cent). 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.”
While the monthly inflation rate slowed, the annual inflation rate continued its steady climb, moving from 15.38 per cent in March to 15.69 per cent in April before reaching 15.93 per cent in May.
The NBS further noted:
“On a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent, up from 15.69 per cent in April 2026 and down from 26.06 per cent 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 per cent compared to the April 2026 Headline inflation rate.”
Although inflation has risen for three straight months, the latest figure remains significantly below the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025, indicating that inflationary pressures have eased considerably compared to the previous year.
A breakdown of the inflation basket showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the biggest contributor to headline inflation, accounting for 6.38 percentage points of the annual inflation rate. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 2.06 percentage points, transport accounted for 1.70 percentage points, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels contributed 1.34 percentage points.
Education services contributed 0.99 percentage points to headline inflation, followed by health at 0.97 percentage points and clothing and footwear at 0.80 percentage points. Information and communication, as well as personal care and miscellaneous goods and services, each contributed 0.52 percentage points.
The report also showed that average inflation for the twelve months ending May 2026 stood at 18.36 per cent, a notable improvement from 30.57 per cent recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
Food inflation continued to exert strong pressure on household budgets, especially among low-income earners.
According to the NBS, food inflation stood at 16.96 per cent year-on-year in May, compared to 24.55 per cent in the same month of 2025. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation slowed to 2.98 per cent, down from 3.63 per cent in April.
The bureau attributed the increase in food prices to rising costs of staple commodities such as onions, maize grains, melon, water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tubers, yam tubers, sweet potatoes, ginger, plantain and cowpea.
Highlighting the longer-term trend, the report stated:
“The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending May 2026 over the previous twelve-month average was 16.99 per cent, which was 16.22 percentage points lower compared with the average annual rate of change recorded in May 2025 (33.21 per cent).”
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 16.82 per cent year-on-year in May, compared with 24.92 per cent in May 2025.
However, on a month-on-month basis, core inflation accelerated sharply to 1.94 per cent, up from 1.03 per cent in April, suggesting that underlying price pressures within the broader economy intensified despite slower monthly increases in headline and food inflation.
The report showed that urban inflation reached 16.07 per cent year-on-year in May, while monthly urban inflation increased to 1.99 per cent from 1.86 per cent in April. The 12-month average urban inflation rate stood at 18.27 per cent, significantly lower than the 32.55 per cent recorded a year earlier.
In rural communities, inflation was recorded at 15.60 per cent year-on-year. Monthly rural inflation slowed considerably to 1.17 per cent, down from 2.80 per cent in April, while the 12-month average rural inflation rate eased to 18.19 per cent from 28.36 per cent in May 2025.
Further analysis showed that inflation within the services sector remained relatively high, standing at 17.92 per cent year-on-year and 2.84 per cent month-on-month.
Imported food inflation was recorded at 14.60 per cent annually and 2.28 per cent monthly, while goods inflation stood at 6.62 per cent year-on-year and 0.73 per cent month-on-month. Energy inflation was reported at 5.73 per cent year-on-year and 0.72 per cent month-on-month.
At the state level, Yobe recorded the highest annual headline inflation rate at 24.94 per cent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 per cent and Sokoto at 22.60 per cent.
On the other hand, Niger State posted the lowest annual inflation rate at 3.07 per cent, followed by Plateau at 7.10 per cent and Edo at 7.73 per cent.
For month-on-month inflation, Benue recorded the highest increase at 8.23 per cent, followed by Bayelsa at 7.62 per cent and Borno at 7.29 per cent.
Conversely, Niger State recorded a decline of 4.55 per cent, while Zamfara and Taraba experienced declines of 3.36 per cent and 2.67 per cent, respectively.
The NBS report also revealed significant disparities in food inflation across Nigeria.
Adamawa State recorded the highest annual food inflation rate at 29.62 per cent, followed by Kwara at 28.47 per cent and Rivers at 28.40 per cent.
Meanwhile, Borno State recorded food deflation of 6.53 per cent, while Taraba and Bayelsa recorded the slowest increases at 1.13 per cent and 5.99 per cent, respectively.
On a month-on-month basis, Bauchi posted the highest food inflation rate at 7.73 per cent, followed by Ogun at 6.86 per cent and Jigawa at 6.69 per cent.
In contrast, Niger, Katsina, and Gombe recorded food price declines of 3.54 per cent, 3.48 per cent, and 2.22 per cent, respectively.
The latest inflation figures paint a mixed picture for Africa’s largest economy. While inflation remains significantly lower than the levels recorded a year ago, consumer prices continue to rise, with the annual inflation rate increasing for the third consecutive month.
The data underscores the continued burden of rising food costs, persistent services inflation, and broader economic pressures, even as policymakers strive to maintain stability amid global uncertainties and domestic security challenges.