Victor EzejaWhile the entire country grapples with soaring inflation, there some states in Nigeria that are still better than others in terms of cost of living. This could be determined using data on inflation rate which include consumption costs in the following: food, housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, transportation, alcohol beverage, education, healthcare, Restaurant & Hotels, clothing & footwear, communication, entertainment, miscellaneous goods and services among others.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday the country’s headline inflation rate hit 33.69 per cent in April against 33.20 per cent in March 2024. This is as food inflation rate also rose to 40.53 per cent in April from 40.01 per cent in March 2024 with significant impact in the general cost of living of the people as they embrace the new realities of rising costs which analysts have said were caused by fuel subsidy removal last year that led to spike in cost of petrol affecting other things, the disruption of food production by insecurity and high exchange rate among others.
However, as indicated in the CPI report for April 2024, there are variations of inflation rates across states both in the all-item and food inflation rate categories.
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In this article, we shall highlight 10 states out of the 36 that have the lowest cost of living as of April 2024.
1. Borno
Borno, a state in Northeast Nigeria, is first in our list of states with the lowest cost of living as of April 2024. The state recorded 26.09 per cent in all item inflation which a slight increase of 0.31 percent points from 25.78 per cent in March 2024. The food inflation rate also increased from 34.28 per cent in March to 35.41 per cent in April 2024.
2. Benue
Benue, a state in North-central Nigeria, also known as the Food Basket of the nation, came second in the list of states with lowest cost of living as of April 2024. According to the NBS CPI report, the state recorded 27.53 per cent in the all-item inflation rate in April which is a marginal decrease from 28.12 per cent in March 2024. The food inflation rate for April was 37. 56 per cent, against 37.52 per cent in March 2024.
3. Taraba
Taraba, another state in Northeast, took the third position in the ranking with 28.69 per cent in the all-item inflation rate against 28.12 per cent in March 2024. The state’s food inflation rate increased from 34.98 per cent in March to 35.80 per cent in April.
4. Nasarawa
Another North-central state, Nasarawa, came fourth in the ranking with the all-item inflation rate being at 28.87 per cent in April which is a slight increase from 28.64 per cent in March 2024. The food inflation rate also rose slightly from 33.76 per cent in March to 34.03 per cent in April 2024.
5. Enugu
Enugu in Southeast, took the fifth position in the list of states with lowest cost of living as of April 2034. The state recorded 29.93 per cent in the all-item inflation rate in April, decreasing from 30.25 per cent in March 2024. The food inflation rate also dropped to 41.45 per cent in April from 43.27 per cent in March 2024.
6. Imo
Imo, another state in Southeast, came sixth in the list, following Enugu with 29.98 per cent. This is also a slight increase from 29.76 per cent in March 2024. The state’s food inflation moved from 42.81 per cent in March to 43.66 per cent in April 2024.
7. Katsina
The number seven on the list of states with lowest cost of living in the country as of April 2024 is Katsina. The Northwest state witnessed a jump in the all-item inflation rate from 28.32 per cent in March to 30.24 per cent in April 2024. The food inflation rate also jumped from 36.22 per cent in March to 39.00 per cent in April 2024. Though being among the 10 states with lowest cost of living in Nigeria as indicated in the NBS April Consumer Price Index, this significant increase no doubt reflect some level economic strain that the residents are grappling with.
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8. Adamawa
Adamawa in Northeast took the eightieth position in the list. The state recorded 30.53 per cent in the all-item inflation in April which reflects a marginal drop from 31.39 per cent in March 2024. On the hand other, the food inflation rate also dropped marginally from 34.86 per cent in March to 33.61 per cent in April 2024.
9. Delta
Delta, a state in South-South Nigeria, appeared ninth in the list as it recorded 30.56 percent in the all-item inflation in April. This is a marginal decrease of 0.47 per cent points from 31.03 per cent in March 2024. The food also reduced from 43.26 per cent in March to 41.86 per cent in April 2024.
10. Plateau
Plateau which is in North-central took the tenth position. In the all-item inflation, the state moved from 30.55 per cent in March to 31.41 per cent in April 2024. Also, it recorded an increase in food inflation from 35.96 per cent in March to 36. 97 per cent in April 2024.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
