South Africa Inflation Rate

Last Release

Mar 31, 2025

Actual

2.7

Units In

3.2

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

May 21, 2025

Time to Release

26 Days 8 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
20.7 Jan 1986	0.2 Jan 2004	8.57 %	1968-2025	Statistics South Africa

In South Africa, the most important categories in the consumer price index are Housing and Utilities (24.5 percent of total weight), Transport (16.4 percent) and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (15.4 percent). Others include: Miscellaneous Goods and Services such as personal care, Insurance and Finance (14.7 percent); Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (5.4 percent); Household Contents, Equipment and Maintenance (4.8 percent); Recreation and Culture (4.1 percent); Clothing and Footwear (4.1 percent). Restaurants and Hotels, Education, Communication and Health account for the remaining 10 percent. The CPI basket was revised in January of 2013.

Latest Updates

South Africa’s inflation rate fell sharply to 2.7% in March 2025 from 3.2% in February and below analysts' estimates of 2.9%. This marked the lowest reading since June 2020, falling below the lower bound of the SARB's 3–6% target range, mainly due to a steeper decline in the fuel index (-8.8% vs -3.6% in February). Additionally, price growth slowed for food & non-alcoholic beverages (2.7% vs 2.8% in February) and restaurants & hotels (4.2% vs 4.6%). The core inflation rate, which excludes volatile items such as food, non-alcoholic beverages, fuel, and energy, dropped to 3.1%, the lowest since September 2021, easing from 3.4% in the prior month. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.4% in March, slowing down from a 0.9% advance in the previous month.