Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed to 125.9 in July 2025, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This marks a 2.5-point increase from the 123.4 recorded in June 2025. However, despite the higher CPI reading, the year-on-year headline inflation rate eased slightly to 21.88% in July from 22.22% in the previous month.
On a month-to-month basis, headline inflation stood at 1.99% in July, up by 0.31 percentage points from 1.68% in June, indicating a modest increase in average prices between the two months.
Urban inflation on a yearly basis was 22.01% in July 2025, sharply lower than the 35.77% recorded in July 2024, while rural inflation fell to 21.08% from 31.26% over the same period. Month-on-month figures showed that urban inflation slipped to 1.86% from 2.11% in June, whereas rural inflation accelerated to 2.30% from 0.63% in the prior month. The twelve-month average inflation rate for urban areas was 27.04%, compared to 23.84% in rural areas.
Food inflation, a major driver of the CPI, also slowed in July. The year-on-year rate eased to 22.74%, down by 16.79 percentage points from the 39.53% recorded in July 2024. On a monthly basis, food inflation fell marginally to 3.12% from 3.25% in June. The average annual food inflation rate for the twelve months ending in July 2025 stood at 26.97%, down from 36.36% in the previous period. The NBS attributed this slowdown to declining prices for key staples including vegetable oil, beans, local rice, maize, flour, sorghum, wheat flour, and millet.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural products and energy, was 21.33% year-on-year in July, down from 27.47% a year earlier. Month-on-month, it dropped to 0.97% from 2.46% in June.
Across the states, Borno posted the highest year-on-year food inflation at 55.56%, followed by Osun (29.10%) and Ebonyi (29.06%). Katsina recorded the lowest at 6.61%, with Adamawa (9.90%) and Zamfara (14.72%) also among the least affected. On a monthly basis, the highest food inflation rates were seen in Borno (10.89%), Kano (10.86%), and Sokoto (7.43%), while Bauchi (0.26%), Katsina (0.30%), and Anambra (0.37%) recorded the smallest increases.
In terms of all-items inflation, Borno (34.52%), Niger (27.18%), and Benue (25.73%) recorded the highest annual rates, while Yobe (11.43%), Zamfara (12.75%), and Katsina (15.64%) had the slowest growth.
The NBS reiterated that the figures are based on comprehensive data collection across all 36 states and the FCT, reflecting Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to stabilise the economy amid shifting global and domestic conditions.
