Services, non-food inflation push Ghana’s rate to 5% – GSS

Ghana’s year-on-year inflation rate rose to 5.0% in August 2026, up from 4.6% in July, despite a 1% month-on-month decline in prices, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has reported.

The latest figure represents a 0.4 percentage-point increase in annual inflation but marks a significant decline from the 11.5% recorded in August 2025.

Government Statistician, Dr. Alhassan Iddrisu, said the increase was driven mainly by non-food and services inflation, while food inflation continued to ease.

“Food relief is holding, with food inflation at 3%, well below the 14.8% a year ago,” Dr. Iddrisu said.

Non-food inflation increased to 6.8% in August from 6.1% in July, while services inflation edged up to 8.6% from 8.5%. Inflation for goods also rose to 3.8%, compared with 3.4% the previous month.

Dr. Iddrisu said the monthly movement in prices provided some relief, with prices falling by 1% in August after rising by 0.1% in July.

“Two months on month prices fell 1% in August 2026, reversing July’s rise of 0.1%,” he said.

He identified services as the main remaining pressure point, with services inflation at 8.6%, compared with 3.8% for goods.

“Services remain the last hurdle at 8.6% inflation against 3.8% for goods, with housing, water and energy alone driving nearly 30% of all inflation,” he said.

The data also showed that locally produced goods and services accounted for the bulk of inflationary pressures. Domestic items contributed 86% of the overall inflation, with inflation on locally produced items recorded at 6.1%, compared with 2.2% for imported items.

Inflation also varied sharply across the regions, highlighting significant differences in price movements across the country.

The Central Region recorded the highest regional inflation at 11.1%, while Bono East recorded negative inflation of 3.3%.

Dr. Iddrisu said the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions together accounted for 64% of the national inflation rate.

He urged businesses and other economic actors to make greater use of official GSS data in pricing and negotiations.

“Our call to action is very simple: plan, price and negotiate using official GSS numbers, which are freely available,” he said.