Nigeria’s inflation rate rises to 24.23% in March

• Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 24.23 per cent in March
• Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the major drivers, as they contributed 9.28 percentage points to the March inflation rate
• Urban inflation was 26.12 per cent, higher than the rural inflation rate of 20.89 per cent in March

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to 24.23 per cent in March 2025, up from the 23.18 per cent recorded in February 2025.

The NBS data, released on Tuesday, April 15, showed that on a month-on-month basis, inflation increased by 3.90 per cent in March, compared to 2.04 per cent in February.

“The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 117.34 in March 2025, reflecting a 4.40-point increase from the preceding month.

“In March 2025, the headline inflation rate rose to 24.23 per cent relative to the February 2025 headline inflation rate of 23.18 per cent.

“Looking at the movement, the March 2025 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.05 per cent compared to the February 2025 headline inflation rate.

“Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in March 2025 was 3.90 per cent, which was 1.85 per cent higher than the rate recorded in February 2025 (2.04 per cent).

“This means that in March 2025, the rate of increase in the average price level is higher than the rate of increase in the average price level in February 2025,” the NBS stated.

Food, non-alcoholic beverages were major drivers

According to the NBS, the major drivers of the year-on-year inflation rate in March were food and non-alcoholic beverages, which contributed 9.28 percentage points, followed by restaurants and accommodation services (2.99 per cent), transport (2.47 per cent), and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (1.95 per cent).

Education, health, clothing, and footwear also contributed to the inflation rate.

Food and core inflation also increased

The data also showed that food and core inflation, which excludes prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, also increased in March.

According to the NBS, food inflation rose to 21.79 per cent in March, up from 20.01 per cent in February.

Food prices rose by 2.18 per cent monthly, driven by increases in fresh ginger, yellow garri, Ofada rice, honey, fresh pepper, potatoes, and plantain flour.

Core inflation increased to 24.43 per cent year-on-year in March, with a month-on-month increase of 3.73 per cent, compared to 2.52 per cent recorded in February.

The increase in core reflects the broader impact of inflation on goods and services not related to food.

Urban inflation was higher than rural inflation in March

The NBS data also indicated that inflation was higher in urban areas compared to rural areas.

It stated that on a year-on-year basis, the urban inflation rate was 26.12 per cent, compared to 20.89 per cent in rural areas.

On a monthly basis, urban inflation increased by 3.96 per cent, while rural inflation rose by 3.73 per cent.

The disparity between urban and rural inflation reflects the impact of other price shocks, particularly housing, transport, and service-related costs to urban consumers.

Inflation patterns among states

Among states, Kaduna recorded the highest year-on-year inflation at 33.33 per cent in March, followed by Osun at 32.08 per cent, and Kebbi at 30.74 per cent.

The lowest inflation rates were recorded in Akwa Ibom (12.81 per cent), Bayelsa (14.02 per cent), and Sokoto (14.83 per cent).

On a month-on-month basis, Kaduna led with the highest rise at 18.85 per cent, while the lowest month-on-month rates were recorded in Sokoto, Nasarawa, and Kwara.

Food inflation was highest in Oyo at 34.41 per cent, followed by Kaduna (31.14 per cent) and Kebbi (30.85 per cent), while the slowest food price increases were in Bayelsa (9.61 per cent), Adamawa (12.41 per cent), and Akwa Ibom (12.60 per cent).

Nigeria’s inflation drops to 24.48% in January 2025 following CPI rebasing

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Nigeria’s headline inflation dropped to 24.48 per cent in January 2025 from 34.60 per cent in December 2024.

The drop in the inflation figures followed the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), reflecting an updated price reference period (base year) of 2024 and a weight reference period of 2023.