Namibia’s annual inflation rate stood at 3.5% in May 2025, largely driven by rising prices for food, non-alcoholic beverages, and alcohol, the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) said on Wednesday.
Releasing its latest Namibia Consumer Price Index (NCPI) bulletin, the NSA reported that the food and non-alcoholic beverages category was the main contributor, adding 1.2 percentage points to the annual figure.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels followed, contributing 0.9 percentage points, while alcoholic beverages and tobacco accounted for 0.8 percentage points.
The headline annual inflation rate for April 2025 stood at 3.6%, compared to 4.8% registered in April 2024.
Monthly inflation remained unchanged at 0.2% in May, the same rate recorded in April.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, which make up 16.5% of the consumer basket, posted an annual inflation rate of 5.8% in May, up from 4.7% recorded in May last year.
“The food and non-alcoholic beverages index recorded an annual inflation rate of 5.8% in May 2025, after witnessing an inflation rate of 4.7% in May 2024,” the NSA said.
The alcoholic beverages and tobacco category, which accounts for 12.6% of the basket, also recorded a 5.8% annual increase, although this was lower than the 6.6% recorded in May 2024. On a monthly basis, inflation in this category rose by 0.9%, following a 0.5% increase in April.
Hotels, cafés and restaurants registered a 5.7% annual increase, while education costs rose by 4.3% and recreation and culture by 4.2%.
Housing and utilities, the largest component of the consumer basket at 28.4%, recorded a 3.6% annual increase, slightly lower than the 3.7% rate reported a year earlier. On a monthly basis, the category experienced a deflation of 0.4%, reversing a 0.3% increase in April.
Within the food sub-categories, several items showed notable price jumps. The NSA said oils and fats recorded an annual increase of 9.1%, driven by a sharp rise in the price of cooking oil, which surged from a 4.9% decrease in May 2024 to a 12.5% increase in May 2025. Cooking fats rose from a 3.0% drop to a 5.9% annual increase.
Meat prices increased by 8.8% over the year, with biltong rising from a 7.6% decrease to an 8.0% increase. Minced meat went from a 0.8% increase to 10.2%, while beef climbed from 3.5% to 12.6%.
Fruit prices also saw a significant rise. “The index for fruits increased by 15.5% during the period under review, compared to an increase of 12.4% recorded a year ago,” the NSA noted.
Fish prices rose by 9.1% annually, compared to a 6.7% increase in May 2024. Bottled and tinned fish prices were up by 5.4%, while fresh, chilled, and frozen fish jumped by 12.0%.
Transport was one of the few categories to record a decline, falling by 1.3% over the year. This was mainly due to a drop in the cost of operating personal transport equipment, which decreased from 9.8% to -3.3%. On a monthly basis, transport prices edged up by 0.1%.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile items, stood at 4.1%, higher than the overall inflation rate.
Regional inflation figures showed that Zone 3, which covers the //Kharas, Erongo, Hardap, and Omaheke regions, recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 4.0%, above the national figure. “Zone 1, covering the northern regions, recorded an annual inflation rate of 3.5% in line with the headline inflation rate, while Zone 2, which is the Khomas region, recorded a lower rate of 3.1%,” the NSA said.
