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Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 15.93 per cent in May 2026.
This marked the third consecutive monthly increase in the annual inflation rate as food prices continued to pressure household budgets despite a slowdown in the pace of monthly price increases.
The latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that inflation increased from 15.69 per cent in April to 15.93 per cent in May, extending a rebound that began in March after inflation fell slightly to 15.06 per cent 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 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.”
Although the month-on-month inflation rate moderated, the annual inflation rate continued its upward trend, rising from 15.38 per cent in March to 15.69 per cent in April before reaching 15.93 per cent in May.
“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,” the report read.
The latest figure, however, remained substantially below the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025, highlighting the significant easing in inflationary pressures compared with a year earlier. The NBS noted that the May inflation rate was 0.24 percentage points higher than the 15.69 per cent recorded in April.
An analysis of the inflation basket showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest 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 further showed that average inflation for the 12 months ending May 2026 stood at 18.36 per cent, compared with 30.57 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Food prices remained one of the strongest drivers of inflation during the month.
The NBS reported that food inflation stood at 16.96 per cent year-on-year in May, compared with 24.55 per cent in the corresponding month of 2025. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation eased to 2.98 per cent from 3.63 per cent recorded in April.
According to the bureau, the increase in food prices was driven by the rising cost of staple items, including onions, maize grains, melon, water yam, cassava flour, crayfish, fresh pepper, tomatoes, wheat grain, cassava tubers, yam tubers, sweet potatoes, ginger, 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 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),” the report stated.
The report also showed persistent inflationary pressures outside food and energy.
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. On a month-on-month basis, however, core inflation accelerated sharply to 1.94 per cent from 1.03 per cent in April.
This suggests that underlying price pressures in the broader economy strengthened during the month despite the moderation in headline and food inflation on a monthly basis.
Urban inflation was recorded at 16.07 per cent year-on-year in May, while monthly urban inflation rose 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 areas, inflation stood at 15.60 per cent year-on-year. Monthly rural inflation slowed markedly to 1.17 per cent 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 recorded in May 2025.
Further analysis of the report showed that services inflation remained elevated at 17.92 per cent year-on-year and 2.84 per cent month-on-month.
Imported food inflation stood at 14.60 per cent annually and 2.28 per cent monthly, while goods inflation was recorded at 6.62 per cent year-on-year and 0.73 per cent month-on-month. Energy inflation stood at 5.73 per cent year-on-year and 0.72 per cent month-on-month.
At the state level, Yobe recorded the highest headline inflation rate on a year-on-year basis at 24.94 per cent, followed by Anambra at 23.29 per cent and Sokoto at 22.60 per cent.
Niger recorded 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.
On a month-on-month basis, Benue recorded the highest increase in headline inflation at 8.23 per cent, followed by Bayelsa at 7.62 per cent and Borno at 7.29 per cent.
Niger recorded a decline of 4.55 per cent, while Zamfara and Taraba recorded declines of 3.36 per cent and 2.67 per cent, respectively.
The report also showed wide variations in food inflation across states. Adamawa 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. Borno 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 recorded 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. 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 figures indicate that while inflation remains considerably lower than the levels recorded a year ago, consumer prices continue to rise, with the annual inflation rate increasing for the third consecutive month amid persistent pressures from food, services and other core components of the economy as global tensions and insecurity persist.
