Nigeria’s inflation rate climbed to 33.69% in April 2024, up from 33.20% in March, marking a 0.49 percentage point increase, according to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This represents a significant rise from the 22.22% recorded in April 2023, showing an 11.47 percentage point year-on-year increase.
On a month-to-month basis, however, the inflation rate for April 2024 was 2.29%, a 0.73 percentage point decrease from the 3.02% recorded in March 2024. This indicates a slower rate of price increases in April compared to the previous month.
Food Inflation Soars
Food inflation reached 40.53% year-on-year in April 2024, a substantial jump of 15.92 percentage points from the 24.61% recorded in April 2023. The sharp rise in food prices is attributed to increased costs of items such as millet flour, garri, bread, prepacked wheat flour, and semovita, along with yam tuber, water yam, and cocoyam.
The average annual rate of food inflation for the year ending in April 2024 was 32.74%, an increase of 9.52 percentage points from the 23.22% recorded in April 2023.
Core Inflation Rises
Core inflation, which excludes volatile agricultural products and energy, rose to 26.84% year-on-year in April 2024, up by 6.87 percentage points from 19.96% in April 2023. Significant price increases were noted in housing rentals, motorcycle and bus journeys, medical consultation fees, X-ray photography, and accommodation services.
Month-on-month, the core inflation rate decreased to 2.20% in April 2024 from 2.54% in March 2024, showing a 0.34 percentage point drop. The average annual core inflation rate for the twelve months ending in April 2024 was 22.84%, up by 5.15 percentage points from 17.70% in April 2023.
Urban and Rural Inflation
Urban inflation reached 36.00% year-on-year in April 2024, up by 12.61 percentage points from 23.39% in April 2023. Month-on-month, urban inflation was 2.67% in April 2024, down by 0.50 percentage points from 3.17% in March 2024. The average urban inflation rate over the past twelve months was 30.02%, up by 8.53 percentage points from 21.50% in April 2023.
Rural inflation was 31.64% year-on-year in April 2024, a 10.50 percentage point increase from 21.14% in April 2023. Month-on-month, rural inflation decreased to 1.92% in April 2024 from 2.87% in March 2024, a 0.95 percentage point drop. The average rural inflation rate over the past twelve months was 26.38%, up by 6.20 percentage points from 20.18% in April 2023.
This upward trend in inflation highlights the ongoing economic challenges faced by Nigeria, impacting both urban and rural populations.
