New Inflation Rate: Three Nigerian States With Highest Cost Of Living

• According to the newly rebased inflation rate, about three Nigerian states have emerged as states with high living costs
• The data from NBS revealed that Imo state tops the list with an all-items inflation figure of 17.77% in January
• Other states include Ebonyi with an all-item inflation rate of 16.13 and Katsina with a 15.99% all-items inflation rate

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Following the adjustment of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Imo state emerged as the state with the highest living cost in Nigeria.

Imo’s all-items inflation rate hit 17.77% in January 2025 as its food inflation stood at 16.80%.

Imo leads as the state with the highest inflation

Before the rebasing, food inflation was 50% of the CPI, with the adjusted structure and food inflation dropped to 40%.

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According to the report, the updated CPI includes more product varieties, which increased from 740 to 934 items.

The two other states with the highest inflation rate are Ebonyi with an all-items inflation rate of 16.13% and food inflation of 16.88%.

Katsina recorded an all-items inflation rate of 15.99 and food inflation of 13.61%.

NBS reveals reasons for rebasing inflation rate

CPI rebasing updates the reference year used to gauge a country’s price levels by changing the basket of goods and services used to measure inflation to reflect current consumer spending patterns, ensuring the inflation data accurately shows the economy’s current rate.

It involves replacing outdated items with new ones to represent what people buy currently.

The current CPI figures put food inflation at 26.08% per year in January, a decline in the food index relative to 39.84% per year.

Nigeria's new inflation rate

Also, the rebased core index excludes the prices of volatile agricultural products and energy at 22.59% per year in January.

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The NBS revealed that rebased urban inflation now stands at 26.08% per year from 37.29% in December.

NBS disclosed that the rebased CPI shows the current inflationary pressure and people’s consumption patterns.

The NBS explained that the major factor responsible for the decline was the base year being closer to the current period. 

New data shows 10 states with the highest food prices

Legit.ng earlier reported the NBS revealed that the food inflation rate increased again in October 2024.

According to NBS, the October food inflation rate rose to 39.16% on a year-on-year basis, 7.64% points higher than the rate recorded in October 2023 (31.52%).

On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in October 2024 was 2.94%, which shows a 0.30% increase compared to the rate recorded in September 2024 (2.64%).

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng