Mauritius Inflation: 6.4% Year on Year in October 2026, 4.3% on Average
October 2026: 6.4% year on year and 4.3% on a twelve-month average. The two official rates, what is rising, and what it means for a resident.
Prices in Mauritius were 6.4% higher in October 2026 than a year earlier. The rate Statistics Mauritius calls its headline figure, the average of the last twelve months, stands at 4.3%. Both numbers are right; they measure different things. The first shows where prices are today, the second what the past year cost on average.
Two inflation rates, two ways to read them
The headline rate compares the average price level over twelve months with the twelve months before. It moves slowly: 4.3% for the twelve months ending October 2026, against 3.5% a year earlier. The year-on-year rate simply compares October 2026 with October 2025, so it picks up recent increases straight away: 6.4%, against 4.1% in October 2025.
The Consumer Price Index (base January-December 2023 = 100) rose from 114.1 in September to 114.8 in October 2026, up 0.6% in a month. For context, the annual average rate was 3.7% for 2025 as a whole and 3.6% for 2024.
| Measure | October 2026 | October 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Headline rate (12-month average) | 4.3% | 3.5% |
| Year-on-year rate | 6.4% | 4.1% |
| Core 1 inflation, year on year | 6.8% | 4.6% |
| Core 1 inflation (12-month average) | 5.3% | 3.7% |
Core 1 leaves out food, beverages, tobacco and mortgage interest. That it is rising as fast as the headline figure shows the increase is not only about food.
What pushed the index up
Fuel drives most of the recent movement. The transport index rose 3.8% between September and October 2026 (from 111.1 to 115.4), with petrol alone adding 0.6 points to the overall index. Between June and September, Statistics Mauritius had already recorded petrol up 10.7%, soft drinks up 9.2%, rum up 8.3%, cigarettes up 5.3% and private university fees up 6.8%.
Electricity, gas and other fuels jumped in the spring: their index went from 95.2 in January to 112.1 in May 2026, and stayed at 112.1 through September. The table below shows the year to date, item by item.
| Category | Weight in the basket | January 2026 | October 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport | 15.9% | 102.2 | 115.4 | +12.9% |
| Housing, water, electricity, gas | 10.0% | 103.0 | 109.9 | +6.7% |
| Restaurants and accommodation | 5.2% | 121.4 | 129.3 | +6.5% |
| Alcohol and tobacco | 10.6% | 112.8 | 119.5 | +5.9% |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 25.0% | 109.8 | 114.7 | +4.5% |
| Health | 4.9% | 118.2 | 119.7 | +1.3% |
| All items | 100% | 109.1 | 114.8 | +5.2% |
Price rises have broadened
The Bank of Mauritius says inflation is now broad-based. The share of items in the basket with price increases above 5% went from 33% in January 2026 to 47% in October, while the share with falling prices nearly halved, from 23% to 12%. Inflation expectations in the September survey are 4.9% one year ahead and 5.0% five years ahead, right at the top of the Bank’s 2% to 5% target range.
What the Bank of Mauritius expects
On 11 November 2026 the Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to raise the Key Rate from 4.75% to 5.00%. Its reason was the risk of inflation becoming entrenched above the top of the target range. The Bank projects headline inflation of 4.7% in December 2026 and 5.5% in December 2027, which would put it above the target range in 2027. Statistics Mauritius, for its part, forecast around 5.0% for calendar year 2026 on 14 October 2026. The two estimates differ, and they were made on different dates.
The Bank lists tensions in the Middle East, energy and freight costs, and the current drought as risks: the drought could disrupt farm output in 2027 and speed up food price rises. The minutes of the meeting are due on 25 November 2026.
What it means for a resident’s budget
The two biggest items in the official basket are food (25.0%) and transport (15.9%), and transport is rising fastest in 2026. The weights come from the official basket: someone who drives a lot, eats out often or pays for private schooling will not feel the same inflation as the index. For a setting-up budget, our guide to the first 90 days’ budget breaks down the main items, transport and food included.
Rents and mortgage interest in the index
Actual rents make up 1.0% of the basket. Their index stood at 102.2 in January 2026 and at 103.7 from March, unchanged through September, the last month broken down. That says nothing about the rent asked today on a new lease, which you can read from long-term rental listings.
Mortgage interest makes up 3.0% of the basket. Its index went from 95.1 in January to 95.7 in September 2026, and Statistics Mauritius reports a 0.3% rise over the third quarter. With the Key Rate at 5.00%, the Bank itself acknowledges that higher rates will weigh on borrowers. What one point of rate does to a monthly payment is covered in our article on the Bank of Mauritius key rate and your mortgage, written when the rate was 4.75%.
General inflation is not a property price index. For sale prices, see our page on property prices in Mauritius; for the wider economic picture, the article on Mauritius’s economic growth.
Reading the next figure correctly
Statistics Mauritius publishes the monthly index within five working days of the end of the month, plus a more detailed quarterly report. The October 2026 index is dated 10 November. Before comparing two figures from the press, check that they are the same rate: the twelve-month average or the year-on-year change. The first is what Statistics Mauritius and the central bank call the headline rate; the second is the one that moves first.
Sources and checks
- Statistics Mauritius, Consumer Price Index for October 2026 (10 November 2026)
- Statistics Mauritius, Economic and Social Indicators No. 1962, Consumer Price Index, 3rd Quarter 2026 (14 October 2026)
- Statistics Mauritius, Consumer Price Index page
- Bank of Mauritius, Media Release of the Monetary Policy Committee, 11 November 2026
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