Ghana's inflation rate has increased to 5.2% in September 2026, according to the Government Statistician. This represents a 0.2 percentage-point rise from the 5.0% recorded in August 2026. However, the September figure is significantly lower than the 9.4% recorded in September 2025, indicating a 4.2 percentage-point decline over the period. The recent trend shows a reversal of the price decline recorded in August.
The month-on-month inflation rate in September 2026 was 1.1%, following a price fall of 1% in August. The Government Statistician noted that while inflation has nearly halved over the past year, the recent trend is pointing upwards. He emphasized that both the decline in inflation over the past year and the recent upward trend are facts that matter. The Statistician's comments suggest that the current inflation rate is a mixed bag, with both positive and negative trends.
Food inflation in Ghana increased to 4% in September 2026, up from 3% in August 2026. However, it remains well below the 11% recorded a year earlier. Food prices increased by 1.5% month-on-month in September, after falling by 2.6% in August. The Statistical Service reported that food accounted for about 37% of overall inflation during the month. This indicates that food prices are rising, but at a slower rate than in the previous year.
Non-food inflation eased to 6.2% in September 2026, down from 6.8% in August 2026 and 8.2% a year earlier. Despite the moderation, non-food items remained the biggest contributor to inflation, accounting for about 63% of the September rate. The month-on-month non-food price increase was 0.6% in September, compared with 0.5% in August. This suggests that non-food prices are still driving inflation in Ghana.
The data also reveals a widening gap between goods and services inflation. Goods inflation rose to 4.2% in September 2026, from 3.8% in August, but remained significantly below the 11.2% recorded in September 2025. Services inflation, however, eased slightly to 8.3%, from 8.6% in August, but remained well above the 4.8% recorded a year earlier. This indicates that services prices are rising at a faster rate than goods prices.
Among the 13 divisions of spending, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels recorded the highest inflation rate at 10.3% in September 2026, although this was down from 11.6% in August. The division contributed about 26% to overall inflation. Restaurants and hotels recorded inflation of 9.2%, while transport inflation stood at 7%. These divisions are experiencing relatively high inflation rates, contributing to the overall inflation rate.
The Government Statistician's data indicates that services inflation is rising at a faster rate than goods inflation. A year ago, services inflation was only 4.8%, but it has now risen to 8.3%. This represents a significant increase in services prices over the past year. The data also shows that month-on-month, services prices increased by 0.8% in September, compared with 0.4% in August. This trend is likely to be closely monitored by policymakers.
Key points
- Ghana's inflation rate rose to 5.2% in September 2026.
- Non-food items remain the biggest contributor to inflation, accounting for 63% of the September rate.
- Services inflation is rising at a faster rate than goods inflation, with a 3.5 percentage-point increase over the past year.
