Rwanda’s annual inflation rate rose to 17.2% in September from 15.7% in August, as food prices climbed sharply and transport costs remained elevated, data from the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) showed on Saturday.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 20.9% from a year earlier, while transport costs increased 22.4%, according to the statistics agency’s consumer price index report.
The figures indicate mounting price pressures across major household spending categories, with prices also rising for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 18.3%. Restaurant and hotel prices increased 18.9% over the same period.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 2.7% in September compared with August. Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices increased 5.3%, while prices at restaurants and hotels rose 2.8%.
Prices of fresh products, which NISR defines as food products subject to seasonal fluctuations, increased 27.9% year-on-year and 7.7% month-on-month.
Energy prices rose 45% from September 2025, although the monthly increase was 0.2%.
The general consumer price index excluding fresh products and energy — a measure NISR uses as a proxy for underlying inflation — rose 11.4% year-on-year and 1.3% from August.
Prices of locally produced goods increased 19.8% year-on-year, compared with a 9.7% rise for imported products, the data showed.
The annual inflation rate had risen to 15.7% in August from 14.5% in July, according to NISR.
