Zambia’s annual inflation rate has edged up to 6.3 percent in October 2026, slightly higher than the 6.1 percent recorded in September, according to the latest release from the Zambia Statistics Agency.

“This means that on average, prices of goods and services increased by 6.3 percent between October 2025 and October 2026. This development was mainly attributed to price movements in non-food items,” said Status Statistician General Sheila Mudenda.

Mudenda noted that annual food inflation stood at 5.7 percent in October 2026, down slightly from 5.8 percent in September 2026. This indicates that food prices rose by an average of 5.7 percent from October 2025 to October 2026.

“This was mainly attributed to price movements in food items such as Cereals (Breakfast Mealie meal, Roller mealie meal, Maize grain, Rice local, Wheat Plain Household Flour)); Vegetables (Cabbage, Tomatoes, Green pepper, Dried beans) and Groundnuts,” she stated.

Comparatively, non-food inflation climbed to an annual rate of 7.4 percent in October 2026, compared to 6.6 percent recorded in September. As highlighted by the Statistician-General, this reflects a 7.4 percent average increase in non-food prices over the 12-month period from October 2025.

“This outturn was mainly attributed to price movements in non-food items such as Fuels (Paraffin, Diesel, Petrol); Accommodation services (Single room 3 & 5 star, Bed and Continental Breakfast, Bed (Single room in guest house)) and Passenger transport by road.”