Ghana's inflation rate has increased to 5.2% in September 2026, up from 5.0% in August, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). This uptick reverses a run of monthly declines and comes as households continue to feel the pinch from rising costs. The new figure remains well below the 9.4% recorded in September 2025, meaning inflation has fallen by 4.2 percentage points over the past year.
The main driver of the increased inflation rate is the services sector, which saw a 8.3% inflation rate in September, almost double the 4.2% recorded for goods. Within the services category, housing, water and energy inflation hit 10.3%, while restaurants and hotels recorded 9.2%. This highlights the widening gap between what Ghanaians pay for goods and what they pay for services.
Non-food inflation stood at 6.2%, outpacing food inflation of 4.0%. Non-food items accounted for 63.3% of total inflation, with food contributing the remaining 36.7%, according to the GSS figures. The data also show that domestic factors, rather than imported inflation, are increasingly behind the price pressure.
Inflation for locally produced items stood at 6.4%, compared with just 2.4% for imported goods. The GSS estimates that locally produced items accounted for 85.7% of total inflation, suggesting that price pressures inside Ghana's own economy are now a bigger factor than the cost of imports.
Month-on-month, prices rose by 1.1% between August and September. The increase in services costs is affecting households, particularly those paying rent, settling water and electricity bills, or eating out. Housing, water and energy costs rising by 10.3% directly affects monthly budgets for families who cannot easily cut back on utilities.
The September numbers reinforce the disconnect between the overall inflation rate and the high costs of everyday essentials felt by many Ghanaians. Even as the overall rate stays far below last year's 9.4%, certain categories, particularly services, are moving in the opposite direction. The sources reviewed do not provide a timeline for when the next inflation figures will be released.
The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) is the government body responsible for collecting and publishing official economic data, including the Consumer Price Index used to calculate inflation. The distinction between food and non-food inflation, and between goods and services inflation, helps show which parts of the economy are pushing prices up fastest, which in September was clearly the services sector.
Key points
- Services sector inflation reached 8.3% in September, almost double the rate for goods.
- Housing, water and energy inflation hit 10.3% in September.
- Locally produced items accounted for 85.7% of total inflation.
