The latest Consumer Price Index statistics issued by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, has ranked Kogi, Lagos, and Rivers as the most expensive states to live in, based on August 2023 inflation rates.
In terms of year-on-year comparison, Kogi exhibited the highest inflation rate across all categories, standing at 31.50 percent. This was closely trailed by Lagos at 29.17 percent and Rivers at 29.06 percent.
On a year-on-year basis, it was seen that Sokoto experienced a growth rate of 20.91 percent, Borno experienced a growth rate of 21.77 percent, and Nasarawa had a growth rate of 22.25 percent, indicating the slowest increase in headline inflation when compared to other regions.
Upon closer analysis of the data, it is evident that the trend persisted when comparing the changes on a monthly basis. Specifically, in August 2023, the regions of Kwara, Osun, and Kogi experienced the most substantial increases in inflation, with percentages of 6.07, 4.36, and 4.35, respectively. Conversely, Sokoto, Borno, and Ogun recorded the slowest month-on-month inflation growth, with percentages of 1.38, 1.73, and 1.89, respectively.
The data for August 2023 specifically for food inflation displayed a similar pattern, with Kogi once again claiming the lead with the highest year-over-year basis food inflation rate of 38.84%. Lagos and Kwara were closely behind with 36.04 and 35.33 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, Jigawa (24.53%), Nasarawa (24.35%), and Sokoto (20.09%) saw the least increase in food inflation from year to year.
The biggest rises in food inflation were seen in Rivers (7.12%), Kwara (5.89%), and Kogi (5.80%) on a month-over-month basis for the same time, while Sokoto (0.50%), Abuja (1.30%), and Niger (1.40%) saw the smallest increases.
