Ghana’s year-on-year inflation rate rose to 5.5% in October 2026, up from 5.2% in September and marking a third consecutive monthly increase since July.
Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said non-food inflation was the main contributor, accounting for about 76% of the overall rate, while food inflation contributed 24%.
Presenting the October 2026 Consumer Price Index and Inflation Report, Dr Iddrisu said the rise was largely driven by higher prices in the services sector.
“In very simple language, of every one Ghana cedi price rise in October 2026, about 76 pesewas came from non-food items, and 24 pesewas came from food,” he said.
Food inflation fell to 2.8% in October, compared with 4% in September and 9.5% in October 2025. Food prices also declined by 2% month on month, contributing to an overall 0.1% reduction in prices between September and October.
Services inflation, however, increased sharply from 8.3% to 11.5%, while goods inflation eased from 4.2% to 3.8%.
“Services are now rising about three times as fast as goods,” Dr Iddrisu said.
Transport recorded the highest inflation rate among the 13 expenditure divisions, reaching 14.1% in October from 5.7% in September. Prices in the transport division rose by 8% during the month.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded inflation of 10.5% and was the largest single contributor to October’s inflation, accounting for 24.4%.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 24.3%, while transport accounted for 22.5%. Together, the three divisions made up about 70% of the national inflation rate.
“Just these three divisions out of the 13 divisions contributed about 70% to October 2026 inflation,” Dr Iddrisu explained.
Locally produced items recorded inflation of 6.9%, compared with 2.4% for imported items. Domestic products accounted for 86.4% of October’s inflation, highlighting their influence on price movements.
Ashanti had the highest regional inflation rate at 9.7%, followed by Eastern at 7.8%, Ahafo at 6.8% and Central at 6.2%. Northern recorded the lowest rate at negative 0.5%, meaning average prices were lower than a year earlier.
“Where you live actually changes what you pay. In other words, inflation is not the same everywhere in Ghana,” Dr Iddrisu said.
Fresh tomatoes recorded the highest year-on-year increase among individual commodities, at 119.3%, followed by shrimps at 88.8% and ginger at 88.2%. Parking space and related services rose by 47.2%, while mangoes increased by 45.3%.
Some staple food prices fell, including guinea corn by 28%, maize by 27.2%, foreign apples by 24.5% and limes by 23.7%.
Dr Iddrisu said the figures should help households, businesses and policymakers manage expenditure, review costs and direct support towards areas experiencing higher price increases.
He added that the 5.5% inflation rate remained below the Bank of Ghana’s medium-term target of 8%, plus or minus 2 percentage points, and urged stakeholders to use Ghana Statistical Service’s detailed data to support evidence-based decisions.
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