Kenya's inflation rate increased to 6.8% in September 2026, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The rise was primarily driven by higher food and transport costs. The KNBS released its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on September 30, 2026, revealing that food prices increased by 9.5% over the year, while transport recorded the sharpest rise at 15.6%.
The housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels division also saw a 3.2% increase in prices over the same period. These three divisions account for more than 57% of the total weight of the 13 major expenditure categories used by KNBS to calculate the CPI. The overall CPI increased from 155.85 in August to 156.47 in September, resulting in a monthly inflation rate of 0.4%.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels were the main drivers of the increase in inflation. Within the food category, some items became cheaper, while others increased in price. Tomato prices declined by 4.1%, while loose maize flour fell by 1.9% and sugar by 0.4%. However, white wheat flour increased by 4.5%, fresh unpacketed cow milk rose by 5.8%, and fresh packeted cow milk increased by 6.0%.
Despite recording the largest annual increase, transport prices fell by 0.4% between August and September. Country bus and matatu fares for intertown travel declined by 1.0%, while city bus and matatu fares dropped by 0.3%. However, international flight prices rose by 8.1% during the month. On an annual basis, petrol prices increased by 15.8%, while diesel recorded a larger increase of 26.9%.
The housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels division recorded a mixed trend during the month. Electricity prices declined, with the cost of 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity falling by 2.4% and the price of 200 kilowatt-hours declining by 2.2%. KNBS also reported changes in inflation after excluding relatively volatile commodities from the calculation.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile commodities, increased to 4.0% in September, while non-core inflation stood at 14.0%. Core inflation contributed 4.2 percentage points to the overall inflation rate, compared with 2.6 percentage points from non-core inflation. Food and non-alcoholic beverages alone contributed 2.8 percentage points to the overall inflation rate in September.
The KNBS reported that a country bus or matatu fare from Isiolo to Nairobi was 20% higher in September than it was a year earlier. The general price level was 6.8% higher in September 2026 than it was in September 2025.
Key points
- Kenya's annual inflation rate rose to 6.8% in September 2026.
- Food prices increased by 9.5% over the year.
- Transport costs recorded the sharpest rise at 15.6% over the year.
