Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 21.88% in July 2025, down from 22.22% in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The latest figure represents an 11.52 percentage point drop from July 2024’s 33.40%, highlighting a significant slowdown in annual price growth.
Month-on-month, headline inflation rate in July 2025 was 1.99%, which was 0.31% higher than the rate recorded in June 2025 which was at 1.68%.
The average Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the twelve months ending July 2025 stood at 25.65%, down from 30.76% a year earlier.
Urban and Rural Inflation Trends
Urban inflation in July 2025 came in at 22.01%, a sharp decline from the 35.77% recorded in July 2024.
On a monthly basis, urban prices rose 1.86%, easing from 2.11% in June, while the twelve-month average urban inflation rate fell to 27.04% from 32.89% last year.
Rural inflation slowed to 21.08% in July 2025, compared to 31.26% in the same month of 2024. However, rural prices increased 2.30% month-on-month, up significantly from June’s 0.63%, suggesting stronger short-term price pressures in non-urban areas.
Food Inflation
Food inflation rate dropped to 22.74% year-on-year in July 2025, down sharply from 39.53% a year earlier. The NBS attributed this steep decline partly to a change in the base year, which makes annual comparisons more favorable.
On a month-on-month basis, food prices rose 3.12%, slightly lower than June’s 3.25%.
The slowdown was linked to falling prices of key staples, including vegetable oil, beans, rice, maize flour, sorghum, wheat flour, and millet.
The twelve-month average food inflation rate eased to 26.97% from 36.36% in July 2024.
Core Inflation
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural and energy prices, fell to 21.33% in July 2025 from 27.47% a year ago.
Monthly core inflation was 0.97%, down sharply from June’s 2.46%, underscoring a broad-based cooling in non-food and non-energy prices.
The twelve-month average core inflation rate declined slightly to 23.63%, compared to 24.65% in July 2024. This moderation reflects easing cost pressures in sectors outside the food and energy basket, potentially offering some relief to consumers.
Outlook
While Nigeria’s inflation rate remains high by global standards, the July 2025 data signals a continued deceleration from last year’s peaks.
The sharp year-on-year declines across headline, food, and core inflation point to an improving price environment, though elevated month-on-month increases, particularly in rural and food categories, indicate underlying inflationary risks persist.