How we arrived at 24.48% rebased inflation figure – Statistician General

…as food weight drops to 40%, transport 10.7%

Adeyemi Adeniran, the Statistician General of the Federation has announced a decline in the nation’s inflation rate from 34.8 percent recorded in December to 24.48 percent in January 2025. This he said is due to the rebasing exercise recently embarked on by the Bureau.

With the rebasing exercise, the price reference period (base year) changed from from 2009 to 2024 while the relative index changed from long to short term.

Also, according to the 2024 CPI weighting structure, food and non- alcoholic beverages top the basket with weight dropping from 51.8 percent in 2009 to 40 percent in 2024, Housing, water, electricity and other fuels dropped from 16.7 percent to 8.4 percent. While transport increased from 6.5 percent in 2009 to 10.7 percent, education services increased from 3.9 percent to 6.2 percent, restaurants and accommodation increased from 1.2 percent to 12.9 percent in 2024.

According to the Statistician General, rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) became imperative with innovation, development, globalization, and changes in the production and consumption pattern of goods and services within the borders of the nation.

Read also: Nigeria’s inflation drops to 24.48% in January after rebasing

“Changes in the consumer pattern equally leads to a change in the general composition of the basket of items which is used to measure the average change in price levels in the economy. Given all these, it is necessary to move the base year to which the CPI index is measured, to a year much closer to the current period,” he said.

The Statistician General explained that all-items index which is used to measure headline inflation for January 2025 was 110.7, resulting in a headline inflation rate of 24.48 percent on a year-on-year basis. This increase he said was mainly driven by food and non alcoholic beverages, restaurants and accommodation, services and transport.

Also, the food index for January 2025 was 110.03, resulting in a food inflation rate of 26.08 percent year-on-year. The core index which is all-items less farm produce and energy for January 2025 was 110.7, which gave rise to a Core inflation rate of 22.59 percent year-on-year.

Disaggregating by sector, the Urban inflation rate was 26.09 percent, while the rural inflation rate was 22.15 percent.

“The rebased all items index in January 2025 was 110.68, while the geadline inflation rate on year-on-year basis stood at 24.48 percent in January 2025. This means that the general prices of goods and services in Nigeria increased by 24.48 percent compared to January 2024.

“The rebased food index in January 2025 was 110.33, while food inflation rate on a year-on-year basis stood at 26.08 percent in January 2025. This means that the general prices of food items in Nigeria increased by 26.08 percent compared to January 2024.

“The rebased core index in January 2025 was 110.87, while the core inflation rate on a year-on-year basis stood at 22.59 percent in January 2025. This means that the general prices of core items in Nigeria increased by 22.59 percent compared to January 2024,” Adeniran explained.