Uganda’s annual inflation rose to 5.8% in October 2026, up from 4.6% in September, driven mainly by higher prices of food, fuel and transport services.
Figures released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) show that food crops and related items recorded the biggest increase, with annual inflation rising to 10.7% from 4.5% in September.
The increase was driven by higher prices of dry beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, matooke and pineapples.
Dry beans recorded a 22.5% annual price increase, while pineapples rose by 25.5% and sweet potatoes by 15.1%. Tomato prices increased by 3.9%, while matooke prices fell slightly by 0.9%.
Core inflation, which excludes food crops and energy prices, also increased to 4.4% from 3.7% in September.
UBOS attributed the rise partly to higher prices of maize flour, rice, beef, refined cooking oil and cassava flour.
The cost of services also increased, with annual services inflation rising to 5.3% from 4.6%. Passenger transport services recorded an increase of 14.6%, up from 11.2% in September.
Inflation in restaurants and accommodation services rose to 2.8% from 2.3%, while charges for refuse collection increased by 40.3%, compared to 27.4% in September.
Energy, Fuel and Utilities inflation increased to 15.4% from 14.5% in September. Petrol prices rose by 34.3% over the 12 months to October, while diesel prices increased by 49.2%.
The national average price of a litre of petrol increased from Shs6,642 in September to Shs6,774 in October. Diesel rose from Shs6,757 to Shs7,014 per litre over the same period.
The cost of other basic commodities also increased. A kilogramme of dry beans rose from an average of Shs4,385 in September to Shs5,411 in October, while maize flour increased from Shs2,735 to Shs2,846 per kilogramme.
A kilogramme of rice rose from Shs5,022 to Shs5,102, while refined cooking oil increased from Shs9,786 to Shs9,980 per litre.
UBOS also reported that monthly inflation increased to 1.1% in October from 0.9% in September. This means prices rose faster during October than they did in the previous month.
Food crops and related items recorded a monthly price increase of 5.7%, although this was lower than the 7% increase registered in September.
Prices of beans rose by 13.9% during October, matooke by 16.2%, sweet potatoes by 11.9%, passion fruits by 11.1% and tomatoes by 7.4%.
Monthly fuel inflation also increased, with diesel prices rising by 4.1% and petrol by 2.2%.
Kampala’s low-income households experienced the highest annual inflation at 6.7%, up from 4.8% in September. The increase was mainly driven by food prices, which rose by 11% for this group.
Kampala’s middle-income group recorded inflation of 6.1%, while the high-income group registered 6%. Mbarara had the lowest inflation among the areas surveyed, at 4.8%.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the biggest contributors to annual inflation, rising to 7.5% from 4.7% in September. Transport inflation also increased to 11.9% from 9.8%.
The figures indicate that households faced higher costs for food, transport and energy in October, with low-income households in Kampala experiencing the highest pressure.