Latest index value and inflation rates for Q4 2025
The latest estimate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been released by the St Helena Statistics Office, for the fourth quarter of 2025 (Q4 2025). The CPI has been measured at 105.4, a small increase of 0.5% on the previous quarter (Q3 2025) and a 2.2% increase compared to a year ago (Q4 2024). This annual inflation rate of 2.2% is a drop in the rate of 2.6 percentage points compared to the rate measured in Q3 2025, which was 4.8%.
Price changes over the last year
On average, the majority of broad groups of items saw their prices rise compared to a year ago, apart from Clothing. The highest average annual increase was in Household Energy (10.2%), the result of increases to the Electricity tariffs introduced in July 2025. Electricity is the highest weighted individual commodity in the current basket, therefore price changes to this item have a significant impact on the overall annual inflation rate. Alcohol and Tobacco increased by 6.1% during the year between Q4 2024 and Q4 2025, driven mainly by increases in the price of tobacco and wine products.
One of the most significant changes this quarter is in the Food category, where the annual inflation rate fell by 6.2 percentage points, from 6.9% in Q3 2025 to an estimated 0.7% in Q4 2025. Food constitutes over a third of the basket, and this change is partly due to a decrease in the price of some common food items, such as pork and cheese products. Prices in the Communications category are also estimated to be the same as they were a year ago, since the last price change to any of the representative items was in Q3 2024, over a year ago.
Price changes over the last quarter
The quarterly change in the CPI was 0.5%, comparing Q4 2025 to Q3 2025. Four categories experienced average increases in prices since the last quarter: Alcohol and Tobacco (3.8%), Miscellaneous Goods and Services (1.3%), Household Goods and Services (0.8%) and Food (0.3%). All other categories remained unchanged apart from clothing which experienced an average price decrease (-0.4%).
Price changes in the UK and South Africa
Many of the major price changes in 2025 have been related to locally produced products and services. However, changes in both the UK and South Africa usually contribute strongly to the price index on St Helena, since the majority of goods imported are purchased in those two countries. In November 2025 annual consumer price inflation in the UK was measured at 3.2% (UK Office for National Statistics), down from 3.6% in October. In South Africa, annual consumer price inflation was measured at 3.5% in November 2025 (Statistics South Africa), down from 3.6% in November 2025. Changes in the value of the Rand compared to the Pound can have a large effect on the change in the price of goods purchased in South Africa, especially during periods of increase or decrease. During 2025, the Pound averaged 23.6 Rand, which is very similar to the average value for the previous twelve months, which was 23.4, resulting in very little impact on the St Helena inflation rate.
Methodology
For details about the data collection and computation process for producing the Consumer Price Index and the inflation rate, please click here.
Where can I get the data?
For detailed tables of the Consumer Price Index and annual inflation rates from 1994 onwards, please download the data series in an Excel-formatted spreadheet here: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/documents/inflation (note that prior to 2024, the series was known as the Retail Price Index). Other datasets, bulletins and reports are also available on our website at www.sainthelena.gov.sh/statistics/resources.
Have more questions or comments?
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