Ghana’s year-on-year inflation rate rose to 5.5% in October 2026, up from 5.2% in September and marking a third consecutive monthly increase since July.

Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu said non-food inflation was the main contributor, accounting for about 76% of the overall rate, while food inflation contributed 24%.

Presenting the October 2026 Consumer Price Index and Inflation Report, Dr Iddrisu said the rise was largely driven by higher prices in the services sector.

“​​In very simple language, of every one Ghana cedi price rise in October 2026, about 76 pesewas came from non-food items, and 24 pesewas came from food,” he said.

Food inflation fell to 2.8% in October, compared with 4% in September and 9.5% in October 2025. Food prices also declined by 2% month on month, contributing to an overall 0.1% reduction in prices between September and October.

Services inflation, however, increased sharply from 8.3% to 11.5%, while goods inflation eased from 4.2% to 3.8%.

“Services are now rising about three times as fast as goods,” Dr Iddrisu said.

Transport recorded the highest inflation rate among the 13 expenditure divisions, reaching 14.1% in October from 5.7% in September. Prices in the transport division rose by 8% during the month.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded inflation of 10.5% and was the largest single contributor to October’s inflation, accounting for 24.4%.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 24.3%, while transport accounted for 22.5%. Together, the three divisions made up about 70% of the national inflation rate.

“Just these three divisions out of the 13 divisions contributed about 70% to October 2026 inflation,” Dr Iddrisu explained.

Locally produced items recorded inflation of 6.9%, compared with 2.4% for imported items. Domestic products accounted for 86.4% of October’s inflation, highlighting their influence on price movements.

Ashanti had the highest regional inflation rate at 9.7%, followed by Eastern at 7.8%, Ahafo at 6.8% and Central at 6.2%. Northern recorded the lowest rate at negative 0.5%, meaning average prices were lower than a year earlier.

“Where you live actually changes what you pay. In other words, inflation is not the same everywhere in Ghana,” Dr Iddrisu said.

Fresh tomatoes recorded the highest year-on-year increase among individual commodities, at 119.3%, followed by shrimps at 88.8% and ginger at 88.2%. Parking space and related services rose by 47.2%, while mangoes increased by 45.3%.

Some staple food prices fell, including guinea corn by 28%, maize by 27.2%, foreign apples by 24.5% and limes by 23.7%.

Dr Iddrisu said the figures should help households, businesses and policymakers manage expenditure, review costs and direct support towards areas experiencing higher price increases.

He added that the 5.5% inflation rate remained below the Bank of Ghana’s medium-term target of 8%, plus or minus 2 percentage points, and urged stakeholders to use Ghana Statistical Service’s detailed data to support evidence-based decisions.