Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to 15.93 per cent in May 2026, marking the third straight monthly increase in the country’s annual inflation trend.
The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Monday showed that inflation rose from 15.69 per cent in April to 15.93 per cent in May, extending an upward movement that began after a brief dip in February, when it fell to 15.06 per cent.
According to the report, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) also increased to 140.7 in May from 138.3 in April, reflecting a 2.4-point rise in the general price level.
The NBS noted that while the pace of monthly inflation slowed, price levels continued to rise. It 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.”
Despite the moderation in monthly inflation, the year-on-year figure continued its upward trend, rising from 15.38 per cent in March to 15.69 per cent in April, and then to 15.93 per cent in May. However, this remains significantly lower than the 26.06 per cent recorded in May 2025.
The report added: “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.”
Breakdown of the inflation basket showed that food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the biggest driver, contributing 6.38 percentage points to the overall rate. Other key contributors included restaurants and accommodation services (2.06 points), transport (1.70 points), and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (1.34 points).
Education services contributed 0.99 percentage points, followed by health at 0.97, clothing and footwear at 0.80, while information and communication and personal care each contributed 0.52 percentage points.
The NBS also revealed that the average inflation rate for the 12 months ending May 2026 stood at 18.36 per cent, compared with 30.57 per cent recorded in the same period of 2025.
