The year-over-year change in consumer prices (CPI) for everyday items — food, rent, transport, and medicine.
Source: SBP EasyData, monthly national CPI, year-over-year.
Inflation is the rate at which the general price level of goods and services rises over time, measured in Pakistan by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — a basket of everyday items weighted by how much an average household spends on each.
Pakistan's CPI is published monthly by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Food typically carries the largest weight in the basket, which is why food price swings move the headline inflation number significantly.
5-7% is generally considered a healthy range (close to SBP's target), 7-12% is elevated, and above 15% is crisis-level. Pakistan's inflation peaked near 38% in May 2023 during a severe currency and energy price shock.
High inflation erodes purchasing power, making everyday life more expensive — especially for lower-income households who spend a larger share of their income on food and energy.
Inflation is the primary input into the State Bank of Pakistan's interest rate decisions: rising inflation typically pushes SBP to raise its policy rate to cool demand, while falling inflation opens room for rate cuts.