If you have been to the market, the bus station or tried to pay your rent in Freetown lately, you have probably felt it. Everything is getting more expensive again.
New figures from Statistics Sierra Leone show that the country’s annual inflation rose to 15.66% in August 2026, up from 14.89% in July. That means on average, things cost about 16% more than they did this time last year.
What is more concerning is how fast prices moved in just one month. Between July and August, prices went up by 2.19%, compared to only 0.42% the month before.
So what is pushing prices up?
It is not food. The biggest problems are housing and transport.
1. Housing, electricity, water and gas: This is the biggest driver. Prices for rent, EDSA bills, water and cooking gas are 87.73% higher than last year. Statistics Sierra Leone says this group alone is responsible for almost half of all inflation in the country.
2. Transport: Transport costs are up by 41.49% compared to last year. In just one month, transport prices swung from -2.94% in July to +2.67% in August.
The main reason is fuel. On 8th September 2026, the government increased the pump price of petrol from NLe35 to NLe40 per litre, and diesel from NLe40 to NLe45. The government said it is actually subsidising fuel, the real market price would have been NLe41.04 for petrol and NLe46.76 for diesel, but for ordinary people, it is still an increase.
After that increase, public transport fares went up by 12.5%. For example, Waterloo to Bombay Street is now NLe18.90 instead of NLe16.80, Lumley to Regent Road is NLe9 instead of NLe7, and okada from pole-to-pole is now NLe8 instead of NLe6.
What about food?
Food is actually doing much better. Food and non-alcoholic drinks only went up by 5.82%, which is low compared to non-food items that shot up by 23.54%.
This is why even though the price of rice or pepper may not have changed too much, you still feel broke. The money is going to rent, light and transport.
What does this mean for you?
For families in Freetown, Waterloo, Bo and Kenema, the squeeze is real. When rent, electricity and daily transport take most of your salary, there is little left for anything else.
The government and the Bank of Sierra Leone are trying to control inflation, but rising fuel prices around the world, partly because of the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Iran, are making it difficult.
Statistics Sierra Leone will release the September figures at the end of October. That will tell us whether August was a temporary spike or the start of another difficult period for prices.
