About 68.4% of Nigerians earning below ₦70,000 per month perceived inflation as high in August 2026, making the income group the most affected by rising prices, according to the latest Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Inflation Expectations Survey.
The survey showed a sharp disparity in inflation perception across income groups, with only 30.8% of households earning above ₦450,000 reporting high inflation during the month.
The ₦70,000 threshold is significant as it corresponds to Nigeria’s current national minimum wage, indicating that households at the lower end of the income scale continue to experience stronger pressure from rising living costs.
Inflation perception remains high
The CBN’s Inflation Perception Index stood at 39.6 points in August, slightly lower than the 40.0 points recorded in July.
Similarly, the proportion of respondents who considered inflation to be high declined from 66.3% in July to 64.3% in August.
Among households, the figure edged down from 67.3% to 67.2%, while businesses recorded a more notable decline from 65.4% to 61.8%.
Rural households also continued to report greater inflationary pressure than urban households. About 65.7% of rural respondents perceived inflation as high, compared with 63.2% of urban respondents.
Energy, insecurity, exchange rate drive pressure
The survey identified energy costs, insecurity, interest rates and exchange rates as major factors shaping households’ and businesses’ perception of inflation.
Businesses also reported a heavier cost impact, with 60.1% of firms saying their expenditure increased because of inflation in August, compared with 51.9% of households.
The survey found differences across business sizes, with micro businesses recording the highest reported perception of high inflation.
Hope for easing prices
Despite the continued high perception of inflation, respondents expect price pressures to moderate gradually over the coming months.
The CBN projects that its Inflation Perception Index could fall to 19.9 points in September.
Businesses showed greater optimism over the longer term. While 16.9% of firms expected inflation to moderate over the next month, the proportion rose to 29.4% for the six-month outlook.
Among households, 23.2% expected inflation to moderate over the next six months.
The CBN said both households and businesses expect inflation-related expenditure to decline gradually over the next six months, with businesses contributing significantly to the more positive outlook.
Nigeria’s headline inflation stood at 15.43% in July 2026, down from 15.91% in June, while food inflation remained considerably higher at 20.31% year-on-year.
The latest survey highlights the uneven impact of inflation across income groups, with lower-income Nigerians continuing to face substantially greater pressure from rising living costs than higher-income households.
