Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 22.22% in June 2025, down from 22.97% recorded in May, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The data marks a 0.75 percentage point drop month-on-month and a notable year-on-year decline from 34.19% in June 2024—an 11.97 percentage point decrease. This trend follows the adoption of a rebased index with 2024 as the new base year.
Despite the annual decline, month-on-month inflation saw a slight increase, rising to 1.68% in June from 1.53% in May. The CPI rose from 121.4 in May to 123.4 in June, indicating that prices are still rising, particularly in sectors like food, transport, and housing.
“The Consumer Price Index rose to 123.4 in June 2025, reflecting a 2.0-point increase from the preceding month,” the NBS stated. “Although the inflation rate has slowed year-on-year, the monthly price movements suggest persistent cost pressures.”
Food inflation, a major concern for most households, stood at 21.97% year-on-year in June—a significant drop from 40.87% recorded in June 2024. The month-on-month food inflation, however, climbed to 3.25% in June from 2.19% in May. The surge was driven by rising prices of essential food items such as tomatoes, pepper, crayfish, shrimps, plantain flour, and meat.
An economist, Dr. Kehinde Oladipo, reacting to the figures, noted, “The sharp year-on-year drop is largely a statistical effect from the base year change. What’s more concerning for Nigerians is the monthly jump in food prices, which directly impacts the average household.”
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, dropped to 22.76% year-on-year in June from 27.4% in the same period last year. On a monthly basis, it increased to 2.46% from 1.10% in May.
Urban and rural areas experienced varying inflation patterns. Urban inflation stood at 22.72% year-on-year in June, down from 36.55% in June 2024, but month-on-month urban inflation rose to 2.11% from 1.40%. Rural inflation eased to 20.85% year-on-year from 32.09%, with a month-on-month increase of 0.63%.
State-level data showed Borno recording the highest all-items inflation at 31.63%, followed by Abuja at 26.79% and Benue at 25.91%. Zamfara, Yobe, and Sokoto recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation at 9.90%, 13.51%, and 15.78% respectively.
On the food inflation front, Borno again led with 47.40%, followed by Ebonyi (30.62%) and Bayelsa (28.64%). The lowest food inflation rates were observed in Katsina (6.21%), Adamawa (10.90%), and Sokoto (15.25%).
Month-on-month food inflation surged in Enugu (11.90%), Kwara (9.97%), and Rivers (9.88%), while Borno, Sokoto, and Bayelsa recorded declines of 7.63%, 6.43%, and 6.34% respectively.
According to the report, the most significant contributors to the overall inflation rate were food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, transport, electricity, gas, education, and healthcare services.
While the drop in annual inflation offers some optimism, analysts caution that the continued monthly increases in core and food inflation indicate sustained cost-of-living pressures.
“Nigerians are still feeling the pinch despite these figures,” said Lagos-based market analyst, Aisha Abdullahi. “Until we see a consistent slowdown in monthly inflation, the economic relief for the average citizen remains limited.”
The NBS maintains that ongoing structural reforms, improved agricultural output, and targeted fiscal measures will be crucial to sustaining the downward trajectory in the coming months.