GHDatafie blog

Ghana's inflation rate explained: 5.2 percent in September 2026

GHDatafie, 23 October 2026

Ghana's headline inflation rate was 5.2 percent in September 2026, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). Prices of the goods and services households buy were, on average, 5.2 percent higher than in September 2025. The figure is marked final.

Ghana's headline inflation rate was 5.2 percent in September 2026, according to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). On average, prices of the goods and services households buy were 5.2 percent higher than they were in September 2025. GSS marks the September 2026 figure as final.

What inflation measures

Inflation here is the year-on-year change in the national Consumer Price Index (CPI), the combined index for the whole country. The CPI follows the prices of a set of goods and services that households buy. GSS compares the index in one month with the same month a year earlier and publishes the change as a percentage, shown to one decimal place. "Headline" means the figure covers everything in the index, with no items left out. Put simply, inflation tells you how much faster or slower prices are rising for the average household.

How GSS calculates it

GSS works out each figure on the index base in force when the figure was published. The base was first 2012 = 100 and later 2021 = 100. A base is the reference period whose price level is set at 100, so later prices can be measured against it. When GSS restates a figure after first publishing it, GHDatafie keeps the newer value as a revision. Older figures were therefore calculated on a different base from recent ones, which is worth keeping in mind when you compare years far apart.

How to read the latest figure

In August 2026 inflation was 5.0 percent. GHDatafie calculated that the September 2026 figure is 0.2 percentage points higher than August's. A year earlier, in September 2025, inflation was 9.4 percent, so the latest figure is 4.2 percentage points lower than a year before, again by GHDatafie's calculation.

An everyday example helps. GHDatafie calculated that at a yearly rate of 5.2 percent, something that cost GH₵100 in September 2025 costs GH₵105.2 in September 2026, on average. Your own shopping may differ, because the figure is an average across many items.

What the figures shown say

The chart above shows the figures from June 2023 to September 2026. The highest of those is 43.1 percent, in July 2023. Inflation then fell for most of 2024 and 2025, reached its lowest levels shown in early 2026, and has edged up since. The full series on the series page starts in January 2013.

Common misunderstandings

Many people read a lower inflation rate as falling prices. When inflation moved from 9.4 percent in September 2025 to 5.2 percent in September 2026, prices still rose. They rose more slowly. Prices fall on average only when the rate is below zero.

The rate is an average for the whole country. If most of your spending goes on items whose prices rose faster than the rest, your own costs went up by more than the headline figure, and the reverse is also true.

A change in the rate is measured in percentage points. Going from 5.0 percent to 5.2 percent is a rise of 0.2 percentage points, which is different from a rise of 0.2 percent.

Each year-on-year figure covers price changes over a whole year. A single month's figure therefore reflects what happened over the year up to that month, and a jump in one month can come from changes spread across earlier months.

All figures are as published by GSS and may be revised.

Where the figures come from

The inflation figures come from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) and are compiled by GHDatafie, which is independent of and not endorsed by GSS. You can see every published value on the CPI inflation, headline, year on year page, and new figures as they appear on the releases page.

Questions people ask

What is Ghana's inflation rate?

Ghana's headline inflation rate was 5.2 percent in September 2026, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. The figure is marked final, and figures are as published and may be revised.

Does lower inflation mean prices in Ghana are falling?

No. A lower inflation rate means prices are rising more slowly. In September 2026 inflation was 5.2 percent, so prices were still higher on average than a year earlier.

How has Ghana's inflation changed over the past year?

Inflation was 9.4 percent in September 2025 and 5.2 percent in September 2026, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. GHDatafie calculated that the latest figure is 4.2 percentage points lower than a year earlier.

What does 5.2 percent inflation mean for my money?

GHDatafie calculated that at a yearly rate of 5.2 percent, something that cost GH₵100 in September 2025 costs GH₵105.2 in September 2026, on average. Your own costs depend on what you buy.

Who publishes Ghana's inflation figures?

The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) publishes Ghana's Consumer Price Index and inflation figures. GHDatafie, an independent company, compiles them as published by GSS.

Figures in this article

• CPI inflation, headline, year on year: Source: Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), statsghana.gov.gh. Figures as published by GSS; compiled by GHDatafie, which is independent of and not endorsed by GSS.

Changes and everyday examples are calculated by GHDatafie from the published figures. GHDatafie is independent and is not part of, or endorsed by, the publishers it quotes.