In August 2025, Nigeria experienced a continued reduction in its inflation rate, which fell to 20.12% from 21.88% in July, marking the fifth month in a row of declining inflation, according to recent figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This represents a 1.76 percentage point decrease compared to the previous month and confirms a downward trend that started in April 2025, when inflation reached its peak at 23.71%.
The NBS stated, “The headline inflation rate for August 2025 eased to 20.12 percent from 21.88 percent recorded in July 2025.”
When viewed on a year-over-year basis, the inflation rate has dropped substantially, falling by 12.03 percentage points from the 32.15% recorded in August 2024.
“Compared to August 2024, the headline inflation rate declined by 12.03 percentage points from 32.15 percent,” the NBS added.
The agency also noted that part of this year-on-year reduction is linked to the revision of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) base year, which is now anchored at November 2009 = 100.
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Breaking down the data further, urban areas saw a sharper decline in inflation compared to rural regions. Urban inflation dropped to 19.75%, while rural inflation remained slightly higher at 20.28% in August.
Food inflation, a critical component affecting household budgets, also eased, falling to 21.87% in August from 22.70% in July. This improvement was largely driven by price reductions in several staple food items.
The NBS highlighted that the decrease in food prices was mainly due to lower average costs of key commodities such as both imported and local rice, guinea corn flour, maize flour, sorghum, millet, semolina, and soya milk.
On an annual scale, food inflation saw an even more pronounced drop, decreasing by 15.65 percentage points from 37.52% in August 2024.
The report also pointed out notable regional variations in food inflation rates:
- Regions with the highest year-on-year food inflation: Borno (36.67%), Kano (30.44%), and Akwa Ibom (29.85%).
- Regions with the lowest year-on-year food inflation: Zamfara (3.30%), Yobe (3.60%), and Sokoto (6.34%).
Although inflation remains a significant challenge for Nigeria’s economy, the recent data indicates a potential turning point, particularly as food prices-which heavily impact household expenses-begin to stabilize.
