Namibia’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.6% in April 2025, primarily fuelled by increases in food and housing-related costs, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) has reported.
According to the NSA, the main drivers of inflation during the month were the categories ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ and ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’, contributing 1.1 and 1.0 percentage points to the overall inflation rate, respectively. ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ was the third largest contributor, adding 0.7 percentage points.
On a monthly basis, inflation edged up by 0.2% in April, a slowdown from the 0.5% recorded in March.
As April marks the start of the 2025/26 financial year, the month’s figures also serve as the baseline for fiscal inflation monitoring.
The ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ category, which accounts for 16.5% of the Namibia Consumer Price Index (NCPI) basket, registered an annual inflation rate of 5.6% in April, up from 4.9% in the same month last year.
However, its monthly rate remained flat at 0.0%, down from 0.3% in March.
Meanwhile, the ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ category—comprising 12.6% of the basket—posted an annual inflation rate of 4.9%, significantly lower than the 7.3% recorded in April 2024.
On a monthly basis, inflation in this group declined to 0.5% from 1.6% the previous month.
Housing-related costs, which make up 28.4% of the consumer basket, showed an annual inflation rate of 4.1%, compared to 3.6% a year earlier.
The monthly rate increased slightly to 0.3%, up from 0.2% in March.
The NSA also highlighted notable annual inflation rates in several categories: ‘Hotels, Cafés, and Restaurants’ rose by 6.3%, ‘Recreation and Culture’ by 4.6%, and ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ by 5.6%.
In contrast, the ‘Transport’ category experienced a rare deflation, with an annual rate of -0.3%, reversing sharply from the 5.9% increase recorded in April 2024.
“The decline was mainly due to a drop in the cost of operating personal transport equipment—from 7.0% to -1.8%—and vehicle purchases, which decreased from 6.3% to 3.2%,” the NSA stated. Month-on-month, transport inflation eased to 0.9%, from 1.2% in March.
Regionally, Zone 3—comprising //Kharas, Erongo, Hardap, and Omaheke—recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate at 4.1%, followed by Zone 1 (northern and north-eastern regions) at 3.7%, and Zone 2 (Khomas) at 3.2%.
The report also noted regional price disparities in everyday goods. In Zone 2, consumers paid the highest price for 750ml of pure sunflower oil at N$33.43, while the lowest price, N$31.95, was recorded in Zone 3. Zone 1 recorded the highest price for 100g Rooibos teabags at N$37.76.
Core inflation—which excludes volatile items such as food and energy—was recorded at 4.0%, surpassing the headline inflation rate.
“These volatile elements typically include food and energy prices, which tend to experience significant price fluctuations due to factors such as weather conditions, geopolitical events, or changes in supply and demand,” the NSA said.
