The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that Nigeria’s headline inflation surged to 24.23 percent in March 2025, rising from the 23.18 percent recorded in February.
According to the bureau, “Looking at the movement, the March 2025 Headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.05% compared to the February 2025 Headline inflation rate.”
This development marks the first uptick in inflation figures since the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was rebased earlier in the year.
Month-on-month inflation sees sharp rise
The NBS report also highlighted a notable increase on a monthly basis. “On a month-on-month basis, the Headline inflation rate in March 2025 was 3.90%, which was 1.85% higher than the rate recorded in February 2025 (2.04%). 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 agency explained.
Major contributors to the rising inflation included food and non-alcoholic beverages (9.28%), restaurants and accommodation services (2.99%), transport (2.47%), and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (1.95%). Education and health services followed with contributions of 1.44% and 1.40% respectively.
Food prices continue to drive inflation
The report showed that food inflation remains a key concern. “On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in March 2025 was 2.18 percent, up by 0.50 percent compared to February 2025 (1.67 percent),” the NBS stated.
It attributed the rising food costs to price increases in staple items such as fresh ginger, yellow garri, ofada rice, natural honey, crabs, potatoes, plantain flour, unshelled periwinkle, and fresh pepper.
As inflation pressures mount, many Nigerians continue to face rising living costs amid ongoing economic challenges.
