Mbabane – The Central Statistical Office (CSO) has released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for February 2026, showing that Eswatini’s headline inflation rate slowed to 1.9%, down from 2.1% in January 2026 and significantly lower than the 4.0% recorded in February 2025. Month-on-month prices decreased slightly by 0.1%, indicating that households spent marginally less on everyday goods and services compared to January.
The CPI tracks the cost of goods and services such as food, rent, electricity, transport, clothing, and school fees. It provides an overview of the real cost of living, guiding government budgets, business pricing, and salary or pension adjustments.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices remained largely stable, increasing only 0.2% year-on-year, offering some relief to households managing grocery expenses. Housing, water and electricity remained the largest contributors to the headline inflation, adding 1.1%, while clothing and footwear added 0.3%, and alcohol, tobacco, and related items added 0.2%. 
Other categories showed notable changes. Health inflation dropped sharply from 4.4% in February 2025 to 0.5% this year, largely due to zero growth in medical services. Alcohol and tobacco prices fell from 11.8% to 4.7%, driven by slower increases in wine and beer. Miscellaneous goods and services decreased from 6.3% to 2.5%, affected by slower growth in hairdressing salons and personal grooming services.
Month-on-month analysis revealed further trends: education inflation fell from 2.6% in January to 0.0% in February, reflecting zero growth in pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary education costs. Miscellaneous goods and services also fell from 1.6% to -0.3%, largely due to no change in insurance and financial services. Clothing and footwear rose by 1.1%, reflecting growth in both garments and shoes.
Detailed CPI data shows mixed movement in subcategories. Bread and cereals dropped 1.8% year-on-year, while meat increased 0.8%. Fish and seafood jumped 6.2%, milk, cheese and eggs rose 3.3%, and oils and fats increased 1.8%. Fruit prices rose 9.9%, while vegetables fell 2.7%. Sugar, jam, honey, and chocolate increased 2.2%. Non-alcoholic beverages, including coffee, tea and cocoa, rose 6.5%, and mineral waters and soft drinks increased 7.7%.
Housing and utility costs increased 4.1% annually, with electricity rising 6.9%, water supply 4.0%, while liquid fuels declined slightly by 0.4%. Transport inflation was largely stable at 0.1%, with personal vehicle operation costs falling slightly, while fuel and lubricants dropped 0.8%. Communication services remained unchanged.
The CSO, which has been compiling the CPI for over 50 years, collects prices monthly from retail outlets in all four regions of Eswatini. The index uses the Laspeyres formula, with June 2020 as the reference period. CPI data informs inflation monitoring, national account adjustments, salary and pension escalations, and monetary and fiscal policy decisions.
Director of Statistics, Thembinkosi Shabalala, expressed appreciation for the ongoing support from the International Monetary Fund, the Central Bank of Eswatini, and CSO staff, as well as cooperation from retail outlets across the country.
The next CPI report is scheduled for 15 April 2026.
To access the full report, see below
