Nigeria inflation eases to 15.06% in February 2026, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, though monthly price pressures remain elevated

Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased slightly to 15.06 per cent in February 2026, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, signalling a marginal slowdown in the pace of rising consumer prices.

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The new figure represents a modest decline of 0.04 percentage points from the 15.10 per cent recorded in January 2026, indicating that overall price growth moderated slightly during the period.

According to the statistical agency, the year-on-year inflation rate showed a sharp improvement compared with the 26.27 per cent recorded in February 2025, reflecting a significant drop of 11.21 percentage points over the past twelve months.

Despite the easing headline rate, the report revealed renewed short-term pressure on prices when measured on a monthly basis.

The month-on-month inflation rate rose to 2.01 per cent in February, a notable increase of 4.89 percentage points compared with the negative rate of –2.88 per cent recorded in January.

The National Bureau of Statistics explained that this means the average price level increased at a faster pace in February than it did in the previous month.

Further analysis of the CPI data showed that the 12-month average inflation rate for the period ending February 2026 stood at 21.03 per cent, representing an increase of 3.02 percentage points compared with the 18.01 per cent recorded in February 2025.

Breakdowns across demographic areas also showed differing trends between urban and rural regions.

Urban inflation was recorded at 15.53 per cent year-on-year in February 2026, which was significantly lower than the 28.49 per cent posted in the same period of 2025.

However, on a month-on-month basis, urban inflation climbed to 2.55 per cent, representing a rise of 5.27 percentage points compared with –2.72 per cent recorded in January.

The 12-month average urban inflation rate rose to 21.25 per cent in February 2026, up by 1.81 percentage points from the 19.44 per cent recorded a year earlier.

In rural areas, the inflation rate stood at 13.93 per cent year-on-year in February, a decrease of 8.80 percentage points compared with the 22.73 per cent recorded in February 2025.

Monthly rural inflation increased to 0.71 per cent, representing a rise of 4.00 percentage points compared with –3.29 per cent in January.

The 12-month average rural inflation rate reached 20.28 per cent in February 2026, which was 3.80 percentage points higher than the 16.47 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

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Overall, the data suggests that while inflationary pressures in Nigeria have slowed considerably compared with last year, short-term price movements continue to reflect persistent cost pressures affecting households across both urban and rural communities.