Nigeria’s Inflation Rate Hits 22.04% For March 2023

Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 22.04% in March 2023 compared to February 2023 headline inflation rate which was 21.91%.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Saturday, the March 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.13% points when compared to February 2023 headline inflation rate.

The CPI measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services.

“In March 2023, the headline inflation rate rose to 22.04% compared to February 2023 headline inflation rate which was 21.91%,” the NBS stated.

“Looking at the trend, the March 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.13% points when compared to February 2023 headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.13% points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2022 which was 15.92%.

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in March 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., March 2022).”

The Bureau acknowledged the increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (11.42%); housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuel (3.69%); clothing & footwear (1.69%); and transport (1.43%).

Others are furnishings, household equipment & maintenance (1.11%); education (0.87%); health (0.66%); miscellaneous goods & services (0.37%); restaurant & hotels (0.27%); alcoholic beverage, tobacco & kola (0.24%); recreation & culture (0.15%) and communication (0.15%).

The NBS said the increase in prices of the above contributed to the rise of the country’s inflationary figure.