Kenya's inflation rate rose to 4.1% in July 2025, up from 3.8% in June 2025, primarily driven by increases in the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages and transport. This marks a continuation of an upward trend since October 2024, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). The month-on-month inflation for July 2025 was 0.1%. Key drivers for the year-on-year inflation between July 2024 and July 2025 included a 6.8% increase in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index, a 4.1% rise in the transport index, and a 1.3% increase in the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels index.

A closer look at commodity price changes reveals significant hikes in various food items over the past year. Tomatoes increased by 20.3%, maize grain by 18.4%, and carrots by 17.7%. Other notable increases were seen in maize flour (+17.5%), oranges (+16.1%), and sugar (+13.6%). Conversely, some food items experienced price decreases, such as beans (-1.0%) and fresh packeted cow milk (-1.8%). For non-food items, annual changes included a 2.1% increase in electricity (50 Kilowatts) and a 1.7% rise in monthly house rent for a single room, while petrol and cooking gas saw decreases. Month-on-month changes highlighted increases in kerosene/paraffin (+6.7%), diesel (+5.4%), and petrol (+5.2%).

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a vital macroeconomic indicator used to monitor price movements and their impact on policy decisions. It measures the weighted aggregate change in retail prices consumers pay for a defined basket of goods and services, with the inflation rate calculated as the percentage change of the CPI between two periods. The KNBS collects retail prices during the second and third weeks of every month from selected retail outlets in 50 data collection zones across Kenya, including 14 in Nairobi. The Kenya Urban CPI was rebased in February 2019, utilizing weights from the 2015/2016 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey (KIHBS) and adopting the 2018 Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP) categorization.

The overall CPI has shown a general upward trend over the past year, rising from 139.94 in July 2024 to 145.74 in July 2025. The annual inflation rate has fluctuated, starting at 4.3% in July 2024, peaking at 4.4% in August 2024, and then dropping to 2.7% in October 2024. Since then, it has generally been on an upward trajectory, reaching 4.1% in April 2025 and again in July 2025. This persistent increase underscores the ongoing pressures on household budgets, primarily from essential goods like food and fuel.

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Notes

Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (July 2025). Kenya Consumer Price Indices and Inflation Rates, July 2025.