Nigeria’s inflation rate increased to 15.38 per cent in March 2026, reversing the recent easing trend as rising costs of food, transport, and accommodation pushed prices upward.
The latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday, April 15, showed that headline inflation rose from 15.06 per cent recorded in February, signalling renewed pressure on household spending.
According to the report, “in March 2026, the Headline inflation rate rose to 15.38 per cent, up from 15.06 per cent in February 2026,” reflecting a 0.32 percentage point increase on a year-on-year basis.
The data further showed that the Consumer Price Index climbed to 135.4 points in March, up from 130.0 points in February, indicating a steady rise in overall price levels.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation accelerated sharply, pointing to a faster pace of price increases within a short period.
The report stated that “the Headline inflation rate in March 2026 was 4.18 per cent, which was 2.17 per cent higher than the rate recorded in February 2026 (2.01 per cent).”
Although annual inflation remains lower than the 27.35 per cent recorded in March 2025, the latest figures suggest that underlying price pressures are building again.
A closer look at the data shows that food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributors to inflation, accounting for 5.55 percentage points of the headline figure.
Restaurants and accommodation services followed with 3.26 percentage points, while transport contributed 1.80 percentage points.
The report also highlighted differences between urban and rural inflation trends. Urban inflation stood at 14.64 per cent year-on-year, while rural inflation was higher at 17.22 per cent, reflecting stronger price pressures in rural communities.
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On a monthly basis, rural inflation surged to 6.73 per cent, up from 0.71 per cent in February, showing a sharp increase in prices across rural areas.
Food inflation remained elevated, continuing to strain household budgets. The NBS said, “the Food inflation rate in March 2026 was 14.31 per cent on a year-on-year basis,” compared to 25.22 per cent in the same period of 2025.
This marks an increase from the 12.12 per cent recorded in February 2026, reinforcing the upward movement in food prices. On a month-on-month basis, food inflation stood at 4.17 per cent, driven by rising costs of staple items such as yams, cassava, tomatoes, and potatoes.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 16.21 per cent year-on-year, down from 27.12 per cent in March 2025. On a monthly basis, it rose to 4.03 per cent, indicating broader price increases beyond food.
The NBS added that the average inflation rate for the 12 months ending March 2026 stood at 20.05 per cent, higher than the 18.58 per cent recorded in March 2025, suggesting sustained medium-term inflationary pressure.
At the state level, inflation varied widely. Bayelsa recorded the highest year-on-year rate at 27.37 per cent, followed by Sokoto at 26.03 per cent and Bauchi at 23.67 per cent.
In contrast, Osun recorded the lowest rate at 5.25 per cent, while Kano and Kaduna posted 9.85 per cent and 10.38 per cent respectively.
On a month-on-month basis, Zamfara recorded the highest increase at 10.77 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 9.37 per cent and Sokoto at 9.05 per cent. Lagos, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers recorded the slowest increases.
The report noted that differences across states reflect varying consumption patterns, cautioning that direct comparisons may be misleading due to differences in the weighting of goods and services.
Meanwhile, the World Bank had earlier warned that rising global oil prices could add about 3.1 percentage points to Nigeria’s headline inflation, as higher fuel costs feed into transport, logistics, and food prices, potentially driving inflation even higher.