Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose to 15.38% in March 2026, up from 15.06% recorded in February, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures the rate of price changes, increased to 135.4 in March from 130.0 in February, reflecting a 5.4-point rise. On a year-on-year basis, inflation was lower than the 27.35% recorded in March 2025, indicating a significant moderation over the past year.
A closer look at the data shows that the headline inflation rate increased by 0.32 percentage points compared to February. On a month-on-month basis, inflation stood at 4.18% in March, representing a sharp rise of 2.17 percentage points from 2.01% recorded in February.
The average CPI for the twelve months ending March 2026 rose by 20.05%, marking a 1.48 percentage point increase from the 18.58% recorded in March 2025.
Urban inflation stood at 14.64% year-on-year in March, while on a month-on-month basis, it rose to 3.16%, up from 2.55% in February. The twelve-month average for urban inflation was 20.04%, slightly lower than the 20.10% recorded in March 2025.
In rural areas, inflation was higher, coming in at 17.22% year-on-year. On a month-on-month basis, rural inflation surged to 6.73%, a sharp increase from 0.71% in February. The twelve-month average for rural inflation stood at 19.74%, up from 16.81% in the corresponding period of 2025.
Food inflation moderated on a year-on-year basis to 14.31% in March, compared to 25.22% in March 2025. However, on a month-on-month basis, it eased slightly to 4.17%, down by 0.52 percentage points from 4.69% in February.
The decline in food inflation was attributed to slower price increases in key staples such as yams, fresh ginger, cassava tuber, shelled groundnuts, Irish potatoes, dried ogbono, fresh tomatoes, and cassava flour.
The average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending March 2026 stood at 18.21%, significantly lower than 36.02% recorded in March 2025.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural produce and energy prices, stood at 16.21% year-on-year in March, down from 27.12% in the same period last year. On a month-on-month basis, however, core inflation rose sharply to 4.03%, compared to 0.89% in February.
The twelve-month average core inflation rate was 21.09% in March 2026, lower than the 27.34% recorded in March 2025.
At the state level, inflationary pressures were most pronounced in Bayelsa, which recorded the highest year-on-year headline inflation at 27.37%, followed by Sokoto at 26.03% and Bauchi at 23.67%. In contrast, Osun (5.25%), Kano (9.85%), and Kaduna (10.38%) recorded the slowest rise in inflation.
On a month-on-month basis, Zamfara led with 10.77%, followed by Bauchi (9.37%) and Sokoto (9.05%), while Lagos (1.54%), Akwa Ibom (1.80%), and Rivers (1.89%) recorded the lowest increases.
Food inflation also showed similar patterns across states. Bayelsa recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation at 33.35%, followed by Sokoto (28.02%) and Adamawa (21.67%). Meanwhile, Kano (4.29%), Oyo (4.86%), and Katsina (7.48%) posted the slowest increases.
On a month-on-month basis, Sokoto recorded the highest food inflation at 11.78%, followed by Niger (8.59%) and Gombe (8.10%), while Katsina (0.09%), Ogun (0.77%), and Adamawa (1.30%) recorded the lowest increases.
Overall, the data highlights persistent inflationary pressures across Nigeria, with notable regional disparities as Bayelsa and Sokoto continue to rank among the states with the highest price increases.
