Insight · PricesNovember 7, 20262 min read
Inflation in 2026, month by month
Headline inflation ran between 14.63% and 15.93% in 2026 on the rebased NBS index, while food inflation stayed near 20%. Every monthly figure, what it did to pay, and how to use the numbers in a pay review.
Six numbers that tell the story
Prices kept rising in 2026, just more slowly. On the rebased NBS index, headline inflation held between 15% and 16% for most of the year and dropped to 14.63% in September. Food inflation stayed close to 20%. For anyone setting pay, the monthly detail matters more than the headline trend.
The year so far
| Month | Headline, year on year | Change from previous month |
|---|---|---|
| January | 15.10% | |
| February | 15.06% | −0.04 points |
| March | 15.38% | +0.32 points |
| April | 15.69% | +0.31 points |
| May | 15.93% | +0.24 points |
| June | 15.91% | −0.02 points |
| July | 15.43% | −0.48 points |
| August | 15.39% | −0.04 points |
| September | 14.63% | −0.76 points |
The September drop was the largest of the year, helped by a 0.06% month-on-month rise, down from 0.71% in August. One month is not a trend. The October figure, due in mid-November, will show whether it holds.
Food is still the pressure point
Food inflation was 19.59% in September, five points above the headline. Core inflation, which leaves out farm produce and energy, was 12.95%, down from 13.29% in August. The gap matters at the bottom of the pay scale, where food takes the biggest share of each naira.
What a year of prices did to pay
A salary that stood still lost purchasing power all year. To buy in September 2026 what it bought in September 2025, pay needed to rise 14.63%:
| Pay in September 2025 | Needed in September 2026 |
|---|---|
| ₦100,000 | ₦114,630 |
| ₦250,000 | ₦286,575 |
| ₦500,000 | ₦573,150 |
| ₦1,000,000 | ₦1,146,300 |
Over the longer run the gap is wider. Prices are up about 42% since July 2024, when the ₦70,000 minimum wage took effect. Our report The ₦70,000 Question works through what that means for the wage floor.
Reading the numbers
The NBS rebased the Consumer Price Index in January 2025, moving the base year to 2024 and updating the basket. Rates on the new index are lower than the old series showed in 2024 and are not directly comparable with it. Compare like with like: 2026 against 2025 on the new index.
Using inflation in a pay review
- Use the latest published year-on-year rate, and say which month it is.
- Look at food inflation for lower-paid grades, where it drives the cost of living.
- Separate a cost-of-living adjustment from merit increases, so both stay visible.
- Check what a raise does to net pay: PAYE rises faster than pay at the top of each band.
How we made this
Monthly rates are as published by the National Bureau of Statistics in its Consumer Price Index releases, on the rebased (2024 = 100) index. The rise since July 2024 chains the year-on-year rates for July 2025 and July 2026 with the month-on-month rates for August and September 2026. Pay equivalents are Workstat calculations.
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Sources
- Nigeria's headline inflation drops to 14.63 per cent (Voice of Nigeria, October 2026)
- September 2026 inflation and food prices (Legit.ng)
- Inflation falls to 15.91% in June (Leadership)
- Inflation rate drops to 18.02% in September 2025 (Nairametrics)
- National Bureau of Statistics, Consumer Price Index reports
