Archive note: Lusaka Brief launched in September 2026. This entry was added retrospectively so the record of a significant national moment is preserved. It is based on reporting and official statements that were publicly available at the time.
Zambia's annual inflation rate eased to 6.5% in June 2026, statistics authorities announced — a fresh low since February 2018 and the latest milestone in a disinflation run that has taken the rate down from around 23% at the start of the current administration's first term.
Food inflation softened to 6.7% in June from the month before, while the consumer price index edged up just 0.1% on a monthly basis, following a 0.25% increase in May.
Economists attributed the slowdown to a firmer kwacha, tighter monetary policy by the Bank of Zambia, and progress in restructuring the national debt. The government recently secured investor backing for a buyback of its US$1.36 billion 2053 bond, a transaction aimed at reducing borrowing costs and expanding electricity access.
"Lower inflation does not mean prices have fallen — it means they are rising more slowly."
The opposition has argued that the improved figures are not being felt at the dinner table, a critique the government counters by pointing to the speed of the decline. For households, the question going into the election season is whether 6.5% shows up in market prices.
Back to the front page