Nigeria’s inflation crisis deepened in March 2025 as the headline inflation rate jumped to 24.23%, from 23.18% recorded in February.
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that the development reflects a 1.05% increase that further squeezes households battling with soaring living costs.
In a report on Tuesday by Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, disclosed that on a month-on-month basis, inflation rose sharply by 3.90 per cent in March, compared to 2.04 per cent in February, indicating that the average price level increased at a faster pace.
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NBS noted that urban dwellers bore the brunt of the pressure, with urban inflation hitting 26.12% year-on-year.
READ MORE: Nigeria’s Inflation Dropped From 24.48% To 23.18% In February – NBS
Also, in rural areas, the situation was also dire. Year-on-year rural inflation stood at 20.89% in March, while month-on-month inflation soared to 3.73%, a 2.57% leap from February’s 1.16%. This indicates a sharp rise in the cost of living even in less urbanised parts of the country.
The report reads: “The Consumer Price Index rose to 117.34 in March 2025, reflecting a 4.40-point increase from the preceding.
“In March 2025, the Headline inflation rate rose to 24.23 per cent relative to the February 2025 headline inflation rate of 23.18 per cent.
“Looking at the movement, the March 2025 Headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.05 per cent compared to the February 2025 Headline inflation rate.
“This means that in March 2025, the rate of increase in the average price level is higher than the rate of increase in the average price level in February 2025.”
The statistics office noted that the major drivers of the year-on-year inflation rate were food and non-alcoholic beverages, which contributed 9.28 percentage points; followed by restaurants and accommodation services (2.99 per cent), transport (2.47 per cent), and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (1.95 per cent).
Other divisions with notable contributions include education, health, and clothing and footwear.
Food inflation stood at 21.79 per cent in March, up from 20.01 per cent in February.
