
Nigeria’s inflation rate increased to 34.80% in December- NBS
By: Austine Emmanuel, Kaduna
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to 34.80% in December 2024, a slight increase from November’s 34.60%.
In its latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Wednesday, the bureau attributed the 0.20% rise to increased demand for goods and services during the holiday season.
Year-on-year, December’s inflation rate reflected a sharp increase of 5.87 percentage points from the 28.92% recorded in December 2023, underscoring a persistent rise in consumer prices fueled by economic factors such as currency devaluation, rising energy costs, and supply chain disruptions.
The report further noted that the average inflation rate for the 12 months ending December 2024 was 33.24%, compared to 24.66% for the corresponding period in 2023.
On Key Drivers of Inflation, the report highlighted food and non-alcoholic beverages as the largest contributors to the inflation rate, accounting for 18.02% of the total. Other significant contributors included housing, utilities, and transportation, which added 5.82% and 2.26%, respectively.
Urban inflation remained higher than rural inflation during the period. On a year-on-year basis, urban inflation reached 37.29% in December, a 6.30-percentage-point increase from 31.00% in December 2023. Rural inflation rose to 32.47%, up by 5.37 percentage points from the previous year. However, both urban and rural areas saw slight month-on-month declines in inflation rates.
Food inflation also surged to 39.84% year-on-year in December, up from 33.93% in December 2023, driven by price hikes in staples such as yams, rice, maize, and dried fish. Month-on-month, food inflation eased slightly to 2.66% from November’s 2.98%, with reduced prices for items like tubers, soft drinks, and local beer contributing to the decline.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like food and energy, rose to 29.28% year-on-year in December, compared to 23.06% in December 2023. On a monthly basis, core inflation climbed to 2.24%, up from November’s 1.83%.
Meanwhile, Bauchi state recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 44.06%, followed by Sokoto at 42.43% and Kebbi at 41.47%. Conversely, Katsina had the lowest rate at 28.33%, with Delta and Imo also reporting relatively lower inflation figures.
For food inflation, Sokoto led with a staggering 57.47% year-on-year, followed by Zamfara (46.39%) and Edo (46.32%). In contrast, Yobe, Kano, and Abuja saw declines in month-on-month food inflation.
This rise in inflation, particularly during a peak period of consumer spending, underscores the economic pressures impacting Nigerians across various sectors.