Transport Costs Push Namibia’s Inflation to 5.4%

By: Elizabeth Naftal

Namibia’s annual inflation rate rose to 5.4% in September 2026, up from 3.5% recorded in September 2025, with transport costs recording the highest increase among the main consumer categories.

According to the Namibia Statistics Agency’s Consumer Price Index Bulletin, transport costs increased by 14.9% over the year and contributed 2.2 percentage points to the country’s overall inflation rate.

The increase was mainly linked to the cost of operating vehicles, which rose by 20.1%, while petrol and diesel prices increased by 30.4% compared to September 2025.

The Bulletin revealed that public transport costs also went up by 15.0%, with air transport rising by 22.1%, rail transport by 15.7%, taxis by 15.4% and buses by 12.6%.

Meanwhile, housing costs were the second-largest contributor to inflation, adding 1.0 percentage point, while housing inflation increased to 4.2%, mainly due to higher rental payments, maintenance and energy costs.

Food prices has also increased by 4.0% over the year, but the rate was lower than the 4.9% recorded in September 2025. Meat prices rose by 3.3%, while beef prices increased by 2.6%.

On a monthly basis, inflation slowed to 0.4% in September, compared with 0.6% in August.

The Khomas region recorded the highest annual inflation at 6.2%, followed by Zone 3 at 5.8% and Zone 1 at 4.3%.

The agency also reported core inflation of 4.0%, which excludes most food and energy items.