The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has announced that Ghana’s year-on-year inflation rate for January 2026 stood at 3.8 percent, marking the lowest level since the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in 2021. This represents a 1.6 percentage point drop from the 5.4 percent recorded in December 2025 and continues a 13-month streak of declining inflation.
Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, explained that the figures highlight how prices are changing and what this means for households, businesses, and the broader economy. “On average, prices increased by 3.8 percent between January 2025 and January 2026,” he said, noting that inflation has fallen by 19.7 percentage points compared with January 2025.
Food and Non-Food Inflation
Food inflation eased to 3.9 percent, down from 4.9 percent in December, though month-on-month food prices rose by 1.1 percent due to seasonal pressures. Non-food inflation dropped sharply from 5.8 percent to 3.9 percent, with non-food prices declining by 0.4 percent between December and January, helping to keep overall inflation subdued.
Goods inflation slowed to 3.6 percent, while services inflation eased to 4 percent. Locally produced items recorded inflation of 4.5 percent, down from 5.9 percent, while imported items saw inflation fall to just 2 percent, reflecting exchange rate stability and lower import costs.
Regional Variations
Inflation remained uneven across the country. The Northeast Region recorded the highest year-on-year inflation at 11.2 percent, while the Savannah Region posted the lowest at negative 2.6 percent. Month-on-month, the Northeast also saw the sharpest increase, while the Western Region recorded the lowest.
Price Drivers
A handful of items accounted for most of the inflationary pressure. Charcoal, green plantain, smoked herrings, cinema services, and ginger together contributed about 52 percent of overall inflation. Ginger alone recorded inflation of 72.3 percent, followed by green plantain (67.9 percent), charcoal (53.7 percent), shrimps (48.8 percent), and cashew (47.2 percent).
Conversely, garden eggs, fried fish, cocoyam leaves, pawpaw, and fresh tomatoes recorded steep price declines, dragging inflation down by 24.2 percent.
Implications
Dr. Iddrisu emphasized that the easing inflation offers opportunities for government, businesses, and households. For government, he urged continued fiscal discipline and investment in food storage, irrigation, transport, and market infrastructure to reduce regional disparities. For businesses, he noted that lower inflation creates room to strengthen supply chains and pass savings to consumers. For households, he advised careful budgeting, prioritizing essentials, and saving where possible.
In closing, Dr. Iddrisu expressed appreciation to market players, data providers, and the media for their cooperation, and commended the staff of the GSS for their professionalism. He reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to delivering timely, credible statistics to support evidence-based decision-making for national development.
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