By Kadijatu Bangura, D.S. Reporter
Sierra Leone’s inflation rate edged up to 14.89 percent in July 2026, marking the fifth straight month of double-digit price increases, according to data released by Statistics Sierra Leone.
The July figure represents a 0.12 percentage point increase from June’s 14.77 percent. However, month-on-month inflation slowed sharply to 0.42 percent, down from 1.57 percent in June.
The headline increase masks a sharp divide between food and non-food costs.
Annual inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages, which account for 40.3 percent of the CPI basket, eased to 5.74 percent in July from 6.79 percent in June.
In contrast, non-food inflation surged to 22.11 percent from 21.03 percent, with nine of eleven non-food categories recording increases.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels remained the biggest driver of inflation. The category jumped to 83.72 percent annually in July, up from 81.33 percent in June. Stats SL named housing and fuel as the single largest contributor to the overall rate, followed by transport and food.
Other notable increases were recorded in clothing and footwear, which rose to 6.26 percent from 3.28 percent; health, up to 11.04 percent from 9.25 percent; and miscellaneous goods and services, which climbed to 1.87 percent from -0.43 percent.
Transport provided some relief, with annual inflation falling to 37.04 percent from 40.23 percent — a drop of more than 3 percentage points. Education inflation was unchanged at 8.59 percent.
Regional disparities widened. The Western Area recorded the highest inflation at 21.87 percent, up from 21.38 percent, followed by the Northern Region at 16.06 percent. Both were above the national average.
The Eastern Region rose to 9.80 percent from 8.74 percent. The Southern Region dropped sharply to 6.49 percent from 8.48 percent, while the North-West Region posted the lowest rate at 2.39 percent, down from 2.51 percent.
Stats SL noted that all regions except Western Area and Northern Region were below the national average.
The latest uptick comes after a period of disinflation. National inflation peaked at 64.67 percent in late 2023 before falling to single digits in late 2025. The renewed rise since bottoming out at 4-5 percent late last year points to fresh pressure from housing and fuel, even as food prices cool.
The CPI is compiled from prices of more than 440 items across Freetown, Bo, Kenema, Kono, Makeni, and Port Loko-Kambia using a Modified Laspeyres formula based on December 2021 prices.
The July 2026 report was approved for release by Statistician General and CEO Andrew Bob Johnny.
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