Economy · Headline inflation · South Africa
South Africa’s headline inflation rose to 4.5% y/y in Sep 2026.
4.5% y/y
Sep 2026
Up 0.18 pp from Aug 2026.
Updated 25 Oct 2026
In plain words
4.5% y/y
What it is. Headline inflation tracks the price of a fixed basket of goods and services that South African households buy, with each item weighted by its share of spending. The figure compares the basket's cost with the same month a year earlier, so a large price jump stays in the number for a full year and then drops out. It is an average across households, so a person who spends more on fuel, food or rent than the typical household can face a different rate of price rises.
Lower is better. Lower inflation means prices rise more slowly, so wages and savings buy more and borrowing costs have room to fall. The latest figure is 4.3% y/y for Jul 2026, up from 3.5% y/y a year earlier, a rise of 0.75 percentage points. Since Aug 2024 the range runs from a low of 2.7% y/y in Mar 2025 to a high of 5% y/y in Jun 2026. The latest reading sits in the upper part of that range, a little below the June peak.
Why it matters. At 4.3% y/y, a household whose pay rises by less than that loses buying power on food, transport and rent. Firms face higher input costs and wage demands that follow the price trend. The Reserve Bank watches this figure when it sets interest rates, so the June high and the July easing bear on how quickly bond and loan costs for households and the state can come down.
| Period | Headline inflation · South Africa |
|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | 2.8% y/y |
| Nov 2024 | 2.8% y/y |
| Dec 2024 | 2.9% y/y |
| Jan 2025 | 3.1% y/y |
| Feb 2025 | 3.2% y/y |
| Mar 2025 | 2.7% y/y |
| Apr 2025 | 2.8% y/y |
| May 2025 | 2.8% y/y |
| Jun 2025 | 3% y/y |
| Jul 2025 | 3.5% y/y |
| Aug 2025 | 3.3% y/y |
| Sep 2025 | 3.4% y/y |
| Oct 2025 | 3.5% y/y |
| Nov 2025 | 3.5% y/y |
| Dec 2025 | 3.6% y/y |
| Jan 2026 | 3.5% y/y |
| Feb 2026 | 3% y/y |
| Mar 2026 | 3.1% y/y |
| Apr 2026 | 4% y/y |
| May 2026 | 4.5% y/y |
| Jun 2026 | 5% y/y |
| Jul 2026 | 4.3% y/y |
| Aug 2026 | 4.4% y/y |
| Sep 2026 | 4.5% y/y |
Source: International Monetary Fund, Consumer Price Index (CPI) · Licence: IMF Terms of Use
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Strata-AF™ Data, Headline inflation, South Africa, Sep 2026; source International Monetary Fund, Consumer Price Index (CPI), retrieved 25 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/inflation/south-africa
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Methodology
Consumer price index, all items, change on the same month a year earlier. Unit: % y/y.
Source: International Monetary Fund, Consumer Price Index (CPI) dataset, used under the IMF Terms of Use. Published monthly; the IMF's own source notes apply.