KIGALI, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda's urban Consumer Price Index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, increased by 8.9 percent year on year in January 2026, according to data released Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR).
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 1.3 percent compared to December 2025, while the annual average inflation rate between January 2025 and January 2026 stood at 7.2 percent, according to NISR.
The health sector recorded the sharpest annual price increase, rising by 71.1 percent year on year, though prices in this category remained unchanged compared to December.
Meanwhile, restaurants and hotels saw prices increase by 19.2 percent year on year and 5 percent on a month-on-month basis. Prices for alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics rose by 15.6 percent year on year but remained stable compared to the previous month.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages category increased by 5.3 percent year on year and 1.5 percent on a month-on-month basis. Housing-related costs, including water, electricity, gas and other fuels, rose by 10.5 percent compared to January 2025 and increased by 2 percent on a monthly basis.
In the transport sector, prices remained stable on a month-on-month basis but increased by 8.6 percent year on year.
The statistics agency also reported that prices of locally produced goods increased by 8.7 percent on an annual basis and 1.7 percent on a monthly basis, while imported product prices rose by 9.6 percent year on year and 0.3 percent compared to December 2025.
Urban CPI is calculated based on about 1,622 products in 12 urban centers of Rwanda, according to NISR. ■
