Ghana’s year-on-year inflation rate rose to 5.2% in September 2026, up from 5.0% in August, marking the second consecutive monthly increase in consumer price inflation.
Despite the recent rise, the September rate remains significantly below the 9.4% recorded in September 2025, representing a 4.2 percentage-point decline over the past year.
The latest figures from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) also show that inflation has increased from a low of 3.2% recorded in March 2026, signalling a gradual return of price pressures in recent months.
Presenting the figures, the Government Statistician said the September increase followed a reversal of the price decline recorded in August.
“Month-on-month, we recorded an inflation rate of 1.1 percent in September 2026. This follows a price fall of 1 percent in August,” he said.
He noted that while inflation has nearly halved over the past year, the direction of movement over the past two months remains upward.
“So, inflation has nearly halved over the year, but the direction over the last two months is upward. Both are facts and both matter,” he said.
Food inflation rises
Food inflation increased to 4% in September, from 3% in August, although it remained substantially lower than the 11% recorded a year earlier.
Food prices rose by 1.5% month-on-month in September, following a 2.6% decline in August.
The GSS said food accounted for about 37% of overall inflation during the month.
“Food inflation rose to 4 percent in September 2026, up from 3 percent in August 2026. But a year ago, food inflation was 11 percent, so food prices are rising far more slowly than they were a year ago,” the Government Statistician explained.
Non-food remains biggest driver
Non-food inflation, on the other hand, eased to 6.2% in September, from 6.8% in August and 8.2% in September 2025.
Despite the decline, non-food items remained the largest contributor to the overall inflation rate, accounting for about 63% of inflation in September.
“Which of the two categories is driving inflation? The answer is non-food. It accounts for about 63% of inflation in September while food accounts for about 37%,” he said.
Non-food prices increased by 0.6% month-on-month in September, compared with 0.5% in August.
The data also showed a widening gap between goods and services inflation. Goods inflation rose to 4.2%, from 3.8% in August, but remained well below the 11.2% recorded a year earlier.
Services inflation, meanwhile, eased slightly to 8.3%, from 8.6% in August, but remained considerably higher than the 4.8% recorded in September 2025.
“But here is what stands out when it comes to services. A year ago, services inflation was only 4.8%. What does this mean? So, services are now rising about twice as fast as goods,” the Government Statistician said.
On a month-on-month basis, services prices increased by 0.8% in September, compared with 0.4% in August.
Housing and utilities record highest inflation
Among the 13 divisions of expenditure, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded the highest inflation rate at 10.3%.
The rate, however, declined from 11.6% in August, with the division accounting for about 26% of overall inflation in September.
Restaurants and hotels recorded inflation of 9.2%, while transport inflation stood at 7%.
The September data indicates that although Ghana has made significant progress in reducing inflation over the past year, price pressures have started to build again.
Annual inflation has risen from 4.6% in July to 5.0% in August and 5.2% in September, highlighting the need to monitor the factors driving the recent upward movement.
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