CPI explainer
Inflation in September 2026
Consumer prices were 4.5% higher in September 2026 than a year earlier, up from 4.4% in August. Transport added the most to the rate.
Sources
- Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), Consumer Price Index, September 2026 (P0141). Source released . Checked on SA Data Hub .
- Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), CPI headline index numbers and year-on-year rates (Tables B1 and B2). Source released . Checked on SA Data Hub .The history file has no release date. Its latest values are for September 2026, which Stats SA released on 21 October 2026.
The number
Annual inflation, September 2026
4.5%
Up from 4.4% in August 2026.
Monthly change in prices, August to September 2026
0.4%
Prices rose over the month.
Annual inflation compares prices in September 2026 with prices in the same month a year earlier.
From Stats SA P0141 September 2026, Key findings, page 2; Table A, page 3.
What moved it
Stats SA splits the annual rate into the part each group of spending added. Of the 4.5 points of annual inflation, transport added 1.5 points, housing and utilities 1.3 points and insurance and financial services 0.6 points. Transport added 1.2 points in August 2026.
| Group | Aug | Sep |
|---|---|---|
| Transport | 1.2 | 1.5 |
| Housing and utilities | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Insurance and financial services | 0.6 | 0.6 |
| Restaurants and accommodation services | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Health | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Information and communication | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Recreation, sport and culture | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Education services | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Personal care and miscellaneous services | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Residual | 0.1 | -0.1 |
| All items | 4.4 | 4.5 |
The release lists a residual row but does not explain it. Table C does not list clothing and footwear, or furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance, although both are in the CPI (Table E, page 6). The release does not say why they are left out of Table C.
From Stats SA P0141 September 2026, Table C, page 5.
- Transport prices, change over the year: 10.8% (Table E, page 7)
- Fuel prices, change over the year: 27.9% (Table E, page 7)
- Housing and utilities prices, change over the year: 5.2% (Table E, page 6)
- Insurance and financial services prices, change over the year: 5.4% (Table E, page 7)
In Stats SA's words
“Annual consumer price inflation was 4,5% in September 2026, up from 4,4% in August 2026.”
From Stats SA P0141 September 2026, Key findings, page 2.
What it means in rands
A typical basket of goods and services
What cost R1 000 in September 2025 cost about R1 045.45 in September 2026.
R1 000 × 108.1 ÷ 103.4 = R1 045.45
The two numbers are the price index for September 2026 and September 2025 (Table A, page 3 (all items, Dec 2024 = 100)). The rise matches the published rate of 4.5%.
Transport costs
What cost R1 000 in September 2025 cost about R1 108.35 in September 2026.
R1 000 × 111.5 ÷ 100.6 = R1 108.35
The two numbers are the price index for September 2026 and September 2025 (Table E, page 7 (transport, Dec 2024 = 100)). The rise matches the published rate of 10.8%.
From Stats SA P0141 September 2026, Table A, page 3 and Table E, page 7.
What the measure covers and does not cover
The headline rate measures prices in urban areas. Stats SA publishes a separate rate for rural areas.
- Rural areas, change over the year: 3.1%
Key findings, page 2; Table A, page 3 and footnote 1
It is an average. Stats SA also publishes a rate for each of ten expenditure deciles, and the rate differs between them. The glossary gives each decile as a band of expenditure in rand. It does not say whose expenditure is measured or over what period; for full definitions it refers to Stats SA's sources and methods document.
- Decile 1, change over the year: 3.3%
- Decile 1, expenditure up to: R35 864
- Decile 10, change over the year: 4.8%
- Decile 10, expenditure from: R307 886
Table A, page 3; Glossary, page 9 and footnote 1
Not every item is priced every month. Some, such as rents, school fees and municipal charges, are surveyed quarterly or once a year.
Key findings note, page 2; Table F, page 8
It describes prices that have already been measured. It is not a forecast.
Glossary, page 9 (definition of the annual inflation rate)
From Stats SA P0141 September 2026, Key findings, page 2; Table A, page 3; Table F, page 8; Glossary, page 9.
Inflation since 1911
These are Stats SA's official published rates. The series is made of parts joined together. Where the source says the coverage or the method changes, the chart marks the join.
Headline CPI, annual average inflation rate (all years, 1911 to 2025)
Highest in this range: 23.9% (1920). Lowest: -16.6% (1922). Worked out from the data shown.
- 1922, monthly rates start: Table B2 gives only annual averages for 1911 to 1921.
- 2009, all urban areas: Primary urban areas up to December 2008, all urban areas from January 2009, linked into one index. Stats SA made substantial changes to how the CPI is compiled in January 2009.
From the Stats SA CPI history file, Table B1, page 1; Table B2, pages 2 and 3.
About this series
- Table B1 footnote 1: primary urban areas up to and including December 2008, all urban areas from January 2009; the series were linked to give a continuous index.
- Table B1 footnote 2: substantial changes were made to the compilation of the CPI in January 2009.
- Table B2 has annual averages only for 1911 to 1921; monthly rates start in January 1922.
- Table B1 (the index) starts in January 1980, so rand comparisons can only start in 1980.
- The file does not say what areas or methods the rates before 1980 cover.
- Table B2 footnote 3: the rates are the official published rates; rates worked out from the rounded Table B1 index can differ. In 2009 the difference reaches 1.8 percentage points (August 2009: 6.4% published, 4.6% from the index).
- The history file has no release date. Its latest values are for September 2026, which Stats SA released on 21 October 2026.
What money was worth
Pick a year from 1980 and an amount to see what it would buy at today's prices. The index starts in 1980, so earlier years are not available.
R100.00 in 2000 had about the same buying power as
R391.67
in Sep 2026.
How this is worked out
R100.00 × 108.1 ÷ 27.6 = R391.67
- 27.6 is the average CPI index for 2000.
- 108.1 is the CPI index for Sep 2026, the latest month.
- The index is published to one decimal place, so the answer could be anywhere from R390.78 to R392.56.
From the Stats SA CPI history file, Table B1, page 1.
More on inflation
- Inflation data and charts
- Download the inflation dataset
- All explainers (this is the first one)
Stats SA expects to publish the October 2026 figures on .
From Stats SA P0141 September 2026, Cover page; General information, page 10.
Sources
- Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), Consumer Price Index, September 2026 (P0141). Source released . Checked on SA Data Hub .
- Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), CPI headline index numbers and year-on-year rates (Tables B1 and B2). Source released . Checked on SA Data Hub .The history file has no release date. Its latest values are for September 2026, which Stats SA released on 21 October 2026.
Source of the basic data: Stats SA. The rand examples, the calculator and the highest and lowest points on the chart are SA Data Hub's own calculations from that data.