Nigeria’s headline inflation eased sharply to 15.15% in December 2025, following a methodological review by the National Bureau of Statistics, signalling a significant moderation in price pressures compared with both the previous month and the same period last year.
Data from the latest Consumer Price Index report showed that the CPI rose to 131.2 points in December from 130.5 points in November, indicating a slower pace of increase in average prices across the economy.
On a year-on-year basis, headline inflation fell to 15.15% in December 2025 from 17.33% in November and was far lower than the 34.80% recorded in December 2024. This reflected a sharp deceleration in inflation over the twelve-month period.
The report read, “The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 131.2 in December 2025, up by 0.7 points from the previous month (130.5). The December 2025 year-on-year Headline inflation rate stood at 15.15% relative to the November 2025 headline inflation rate (17.33%).
“On a year-on-year basis, the December Headline inflation rate was 19.65% lower than the rate recorded in December 2024 (34.80%).
“This shows that the Headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) decreased in December 2025 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., December 2024), though with a different base year, November 2009 = 100.”
The bureau stated that the CPI increased by 0.7 points month on month, adding that “the December 2025 year-on-year Headline inflation rate stood at 15.15% relative to the November 2025 headline inflation rate of 17.33%.”
It further noted that the December 2025 headline rate was 19.65 percentage points lower than the level recorded a year earlier, highlighting the scale of the slowdown, although under a revised base year.
On a month-on-month basis, headline inflation moderated to 0.54% in December from 1.22% in November, indicating easing short-term price pressures.
The NBS clarified that the December figures reflected a change in methodology following the rebasing of the CPI. Under the new approach, year-on-year inflation and sub-indices were calculated using a twelve-month index reference period, with the average CPI for 2024 set to 100, rather than a single-month reference base.
According to the bureau, using a single-month base would have created an artificial spike in December inflation due to base effects rather than real price movements.
The adjustment, it said, aligns with international best practice under the IMF Consumer Price Index Manual and the ECOWAS Harmonised CPI framework.
This methodological shift also led to a revision of November inflation to 17.33%, higher than the previously reported 14.45%, showing the impact of the rebasing exercise on recent inflation readings.
Despite the monthly moderation, inflationary pressure over the year remained elevated. The twelve-month average inflation rate stood at 23.01% in December 2025, reflecting cumulative price increases over the period.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to headline inflation, accounting for 6.06 percentage points of the year-on-year figure. Restaurants and accommodation services contributed 1.96 percentage points, transport 1.62 percentage points, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels added 1.28 percentage points.
At the state level, Abia recorded the highest year-on-year inflation at 19.03%, followed by Ogun at 18.80% and Katsina at 18.66%, while Sokoto recorded the lowest at 8.61%.
At the state level, Abia recorded the highest year-on-year inflation at 19.03%, followed by Ogun at 18.80% and Katsina at 18.66%, while Sokoto recorded the lowest at 8.61%.
The NBS cautioned against direct interstate comparisons, noting that differences in consumption patterns and CPI weights across states could make such comparisons misleading.