The Ethiopian Statistics Authority announced that the country's annual inflation rate fell to 9.7% last December, compared to 17.0% in the same period of the previous year, in the first single-digit reading witnessed by the Ethiopian economy in several years, and this decline comes as a continuation of the decline that inflation witnessed throughout the year 2025, as it reached 10.9% in November, which is its lowest level since early 2019.
The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which represent 53.5% of the consumer basket, recorded an annual inflation rate of 9.8%. According to the data, the prices of bread and cereals stabilized, while the prices of coffee and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 48.9%, sugar and its derivatives by 16.1%, meat by 13.7%, and vegetables by 8.3%.
As for non-food goods, they recorded an inflation rate of 9.6%, driven by an increase in the prices of various goods and services by 21.5%, the transportation sector by 17.6%, and communications by 13.9%, while the prices of housing, water, electricity, and fuel rose by a limited rate of 1.9%.
On a monthly basis, the general inflation rate decreased by 0.3% between November and December, as a result of a decline in food and beverage prices by 0.6%, especially fish, seafood, oils, fats, and dairy products. This noticeable decline in inflation is attributed to the reform policies adopted by the Ethiopian government during the last period, as inflation had exceeded 30% during 2023 and early 2024, affected by supply restrictions, currency pressures, and rising global commodity prices.
As part of a four-year economic reform program supported by the International Monetary Fund, Ethiopia moved to a market-based foreign exchange system and implemented tighter monetary policies, which contributed to curbing inflationary pressures. According to the data, the 12-month moving average of inflation reached 13.2% in December, and the Statistics Authority also expanded the scope of the price survey to include 200 markets instead of 120 markets as of May 2025, with the aim of reflecting price conditions in regional cities. And the new administrative regions
