Namibia’s annual headline inflation rate stood at 3.6% in February 2025, driven primarily by increases in food and housing costs, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
The latest Consumer Price Index (NCPI) report indicated that ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ contributed 1.2 percentage points to the overall inflation rate, followed by ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels’ at 0.9 percentage points, and ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco,’ which added 0.5 percentage points.
“On a monthly basis, price levels in Namibia rose by 0.4% during the review period, compared to 1.1% recorded a month ago,” the NSA stated.
The core inflation rate, which excludes volatile elements such as food and energy prices, stood at 3.5%.
Category-Specific Inflation Trends
The highest annual inflation increases were recorded in ‘Hotels, Cafés, and Restaurants’ (7.6%), ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ (5.9%), ‘Education’ (4.3%), and ‘Recreation and Culture’ (4.2%).
The ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels’ component, which accounts for 28.4% of the consumer basket, registered an annual inflation rate of 3.6% in February 2025, slightly up from 3.5% recorded in February 2024. However, on a monthly basis, this category remained unchanged at 0.0%, compared to an increase of 1.3% in January 2025.
Food Inflation Remains Elevated
‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages,’ which make up 16.5% of the NCPI basket, recorded an annual inflation rate of 5.9% in February 2025, compared to 5.8% in February 2024. Monthly inflation for this component stood at 0.9%, slightly lower than the 1.0% increase recorded in the previous month.
“The Food sub-category accounts for 14.8% of the consumer basket in the NCPI. Within the food sub-component, ‘Bread and Cereals’ hold the highest weight at 4.8%, followed by Meat (3.5%), ‘Sugar, Jam, Honey, Syrups, Chocolate, and Confectionery’ (1.4%), Vegetables (1.2%), and ‘Milk, Cheese, and Eggs’ (1.2%),” the NSA reported.
Fruit prices surged by 14.3% in February 2025, up from 12.8% a year ago. “The increase in the annual inflation rate for this subcategory was mainly reflected in the price levels of ‘Watermelons’ (from 3.6% to 24.3%), ‘Bananas’ (from 10.7% to 22.1%), and ‘Avocados’ (from 8.2% to 16.6%),” the NSA stated.
Alcohol and Tobacco Prices Decline
The annual inflation rate for ‘Alcoholic Beverages’ dropped to 3.1% in February 2025, a significant decline from 7.2% recorded in February 2024. The NSA attributed this slowdown to moderate price increases in items such as ‘Beer/Ales/Cider’ (from 8.1% to 1.4%), ‘Sparkling Wines/Champagnes’ (from 10.5% to 4.9%), ‘White Spirits’ (from 9.0% to 4.4%), ‘Whiskies’ (from 5.1% to 2.5%), and ‘Liqueurs’ (from 5.0% to 2.6%).
Tobacco prices, however, saw a slight increase, with the annual inflation rate rising to 6.7% in February 2025, up from 6.6% recorded in the same period in 2024. The NSA noted that the increase was driven by higher prices for ‘Pipe Tobacco,’ which rose from 10.4% to 13.9%.
Regional Inflation Trends
Zonal year-on-year inflation data for February 2025 showed that Zone 2 (Khomas region) and Zone 3 (//Kharas, Erongo, Hardap, Omaheke regions) recorded the highest rate of 3.7%, while Zone 1 (Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa, and Zambezi regions) recorded an annual inflation rate of 3.5%.
A breakdown of retail prices for selected products revealed disparities in costs across regions. Consumers in Zone 2 paid the highest price for 750ml Pure Sunflower Oil at N$34.32, followed by Zone 3 at N$31.05, while Zone 1 consumers paid the lowest price at N$29.78. Similarly, the highest price for 400g Tinned Pilchards in Tomato Sauce was recorded in Zone 3 at N$37.17, followed by Zone 2 at N$35.60, with Zone 1 paying the lowest price at N$30.03.
