Tunisia's Annual Inflation Rate Reaches 5.0% in March 2026
According to the latest figures from the National Institute of Statistics, Tunisia's annual inflation rate stood at 5.0% in March 2026. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index increased by 1.0% compared to February 2026. This monthly rise is mainly due to the surge in food prices (+2.0%) and clothing and footwear prices (+1.5%), in a context marked by preparations for Eid al-Fitr. Meanwhile, the underlying inflation rate (excluding food and energy) stabilized at 4.6%.
Annual Inflation Acceleration
The acceleration of inflation to 5.0% is largely driven by the "Food" group, which saw prices rise by 6.8% (compared to 6.7% in February 2026). This increase is particularly due to:
- Fresh fruits (+17.1%)
- Poultry (+16.7%)
- Lamb meat (+14.3%)
- Fresh fish (+12.3%)
- Beef (+10.8%) In contrast, the prices of food oils decreased by 7.3%.
Other Key Sectors
- The "Restaurants, cafes, and hotels" group recorded a 6.2% increase (compared to 5.6% in February), driven by accommodation services (+14.7%).
- The "Clothing and footwear" group rose by 7.5% over the year, although its growth rate slowed slightly compared to February (8.9%).
Manufactured Products and Services
- The prices of manufactured products increased by 4.3% over the year, under the effect of rises in clothing (+7.5%) and everyday household maintenance products (+4.9%).
- Services (excluding transport, restaurants, and hotels) also increased by 4.3%, still driven by accommodation.
Price Regimes
- Free products (unregulated) saw their prices rise by 6.1% over the year, compared to only 1.2% for regulated products.
- Free food products recorded a 7.7% increase, while regulated food products only rose by 0.2%.
Contributions to Overall Inflation
- The analysis of contributions to overall inflation shows that the "Manufactured products" and "Services" groups are the main contributors, with 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.
- By price regime, it is the "non-food free products" (2.8%) and "free food products" (2.0%) that weigh the most in total inflation.
