Madar (Nouakchott) - Mauritania's annual inflation rate reached 9.3% in September 2026, up from 1.5% in September 2025, according to the monthly consumer price index bulletin of the national statistics agency ANSADE. Average inflation over the past twelve months stood at 6.3%.
The agency's figures show an almost continuous acceleration over the year: 3.3% in November 2025, 4.1% in December and 4.7% in March 2026, before jumping to 7.6% in April and 9.2% in June, then 8.5% in July, 8.9% in August and 9.3% in September. The overall index rose from 128.4 to 140.3 points over the period.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, about half of the index basket, led the rise at 12.5% year on year. Fish and seafood saw the steepest increase at 44.8%, followed by meat at 23.7%, vegetables at 13.2%, fruit and coffee/tea at 9.8% each, and bread and cereals at 6.2%, with smaller rises for oils (3.7%), dairy and eggs (2.5%) and sugar (1.5%).
Outside food, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose 8.9% over the year, as did transport (8.9%), while tobacco rose 21.6%, restaurants and hotels 6% and health 2.3%; communications prices were flat.
Month on month, the index rose 0.6% in September from August, driven by food (+1.1%) as vegetables (+5%), fruit (+3.4%) and meat (+1.2%) rose, housing (+0.3%) with water supply up 2.1%, and health (+0.3%), while furnishings, communications and transport held the increase back.
The figures come as the central bank's Monetary Policy Council called for tighter policy, saying, according to minutes seen by Reuters and reported by Sahara Medias, that a 6.75% policy rate below inflation, combined with excess bank liquidity, could fuel price pressures, with food contributing about 6.8 points to inflation.
