December was characterised by a lot of travelling during the festive season.
Consumers in zone 3, comprising the ||Kharas, Erongo, Hardap, and Omaheke regions, paid the highest price for petrol at N$21.21 per litre, followed by zone 2 at N$21.07, while zone 1 had the lowest price at N$20.93.
Zone 1 is made up of the Kavango East, Kavango West, Kunene, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Oshikoto, Otjozondjupa and Zambezi regions while zone 2 covers the Khomas region.
According to the Namibia Consumer Price Index (NCPI) for December 2025, consumers in zone 1 paid the lowest price for pure sunflower oil (750ml) at N$32.36, followed by zone 3 at N$33.09, while zone 2 consumers paid the highest price at N$33.88.
The bulletin issued by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) says the headline annual inflation rate decreased to 3.2% during the reviewed period from 3.4% in December 2024.
“Inflation was 0.1% on a monthly basis, up from 0% the month before. At 3.4%, core inflation was marginally higher than the headline rate of 3.2%,” says NSA chief executive Alex Shimuafeni.
The zonal inflation rates for December 2025 reveal that zone 2 recorded the highest annual inflation rate at 3.3%, followed by zone 3 at 3.2% and zone 1 registered the lowest annual inflation rate at 3%.
Shimuafeni says the headline annual inflation rate of 3.2% recorded in December 2025 was mainly driven by housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which contributed 1.1 percentage points, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages and tobacco, with each contributing 0.5 percentage points.
“The highest annual inflation changes were observed in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (4.5%); education, and recreation and culture, recorded 4.3% respectively; while hotels, cafés and restaurants recorded 4.2% and alcoholic beverages and tobacco recorded 3.7%,” he says.
According to the NCPI, in December 2025, the annual inflation rate for the component consisting of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which makes up 28.4% of the consumer basket, was 4.5%, up from 4.4% in December 2024.
On monthly basis, this category recorded an inflation rate of 0.4%, compared to 0% recorded in the previous month.
The gradual increase in annual inflation for this category emanated from price increases in the sub-component of electricity, gas and other fuels from 1.4% to 4.5%.
The annual inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic drinks, which make up 16.5% of the NCPI basket, was 2.6%, compared to 5.9% during the same period in 2024.
During the period under review, this category experienced a monthly deflation of 0.2% as opposed to 0% in the preceding month.
Food as a sub-category constitutes 14.8% of the total consumer basket in the NCPI, whereas, bread and cereals account for the largest weight (up to 4.8%) of food items purchased by households, followed by meat (3.5%); sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate and confectionery (1.4%); vegetables and milk, cheese and eggs (1.2%) each.
According to the analysis, oils and fats recorded an annual inflation rate of 2.9% in December 2025, down from 6.9% witnessed in December 2024.
The annual inflation rate for fish stood at 2.2% in December 2025, compared to 6% registered in the same period of the previous year.
“This moderation was driven by a decline in prices for fresh, chilled and frozen fish from 8.7% to -0.3%,” says the bulletin.
The transport category, whose weight of the consumer basket is 14.3%, recorded an annual inflation rate of 2% in December 2025, compared to a deflation of 1.4% observed in December 2024.
The increase was reflected in the sub-component of operation of personal transport equipment from -3.4% to 2.4%.
– email: matthew@namibian.com.na
In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.
The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
