Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 15.15 percent in December 2025 following a methodological review by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Data from the latest consumer price index (CPI) report showed that the CPI rose to 131.2 points in December from 130.5 points in November.
On a year-on-year basis, headline inflation declined to 15.15 percent in December from 17.33 percent in November and was significantly lower than the 34.80 percent recorded in December 2024.
The NBS said the slowdown reflected a sharp deceleration in price pressures over the 12-month period.
Part of 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%).”
The NBS said headline inflation on a month-on-month basis moderated to 0.54 percent in December from 1.22 percent in November.
It said the December figures reflected a methodological adjustment following the rebasing of the CPI.
According to the bureau, year-on-year inflation and sub-indices are now calculated using a 12-month index reference period with the average CPI for 2024 set to 100.
The NBS said using a single-month reference base would have created an artificial spike in inflation due to base effects rather than actual price movements.
It said the adjustment aligns with international best practices under the IMF consumer price index manual and the ECOWAS harmonised CPI framework.
The bureau said the methodological shift also led to a revision of November inflation to 17.33 percent from the previously reported 14.45 percent.
Despite the moderation, the NBS said inflationary pressure over the year remained elevated, addin that 12-month average inflation rate stood at 23.01 percent in December 2025.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the largest contributors to headline inflation, accounting for 6.06 percentage points of the year-on-year figure.
The bureau said restaurants and accommodation services contributed 1.96 percentage points, transport 1.62 percentage points, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 1.28 percentage points.
Food inflation eased to 10.84 percent year on year from 39.84 percent in December 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the NBS said food prices declined by 0.36 percent, reversing the 1.13 percent increase recorded in November.
The bureau linked the decline to lower prices of tomatoes, garri, eggs, grains, vegetables, beans and fresh onions, adding that the 12-month average food inflation rate stood at 22.00 percent.
Core inflation, which excludes farm produce and energy, fell to 18.63 percent year on year from 29.28 percent a year earlier.
On a month-on-month basis, core inflation slowed to 0.58 percent, while the 12-month average rate stood at 23.49 percent.
Urban inflation declined to 14.85 percent year on year from 37.29 percent in December 2024, while month-on-month urban inflation increased slightly to 0.99 percent.
Rural inflation fell to 14.56 percent year on year and declined by 0.55 percent month on month compared with a 1.88 percent increase in November.
At the state level, the bureau said Abia recorded the highest year-on-year inflation at 19.03 percent, followed by Ogun at 18.80 percent and Katsina at 18.66 percent. It said Sokoto recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation rate at 8.61 percent.
The NBS cautioned against direct interstate comparisons, noting that differences in consumption patterns and CPI weights could make such comparisons misleading.