CHAMWE KAIRA
Rail transportation recorded an annual inflation rate of 15.4% in July, contributing to a sharp increase in inflation for public transportation services, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).
The increase in rail transportation prices was recorded as part of the transport category, which carries a 14.3% weight in Namibia’s consumer basket.
The category recorded annual inflation of 9.3% in July 2026, compared with a deflation of 1.2% in July 2025.
According to the NSA, the rise in public transportation services was reflected across taxi, rail and bus transportation.
Taxi transportation inflation increased from 0% in July 2025 to 15.4% in July 2026, while rail transportation increased from 0.5% to 15.4%. Bus transportation inflation rose from 3.4% to 12.3%.
Responding to a query by Observer Money, the NSA said the increase recorded for rail transportation does not necessarily reflect a corresponding increase in the actual cost of goods moved by rail or changes in railway freight volumes.
It explained that the transport category is divided into three sub-classes including purchase of vehicles, operation of personal transport equipment and public transportation services.
Public transportation services comprise rail transportation, bus transportation, taxi transportation, air transportation, furniture removal and transport of goods.
The agency said that where prices for specific items within a sub-class are missing, it applies a class mean imputation method.
Under this method, missing prices are estimated using price movements of other items within the same class.
In the case of rail transportation, the NSA said missing prices are imputed using prices of other items within the public transportation services sub-class.
The agency described the approach as an internationally recognised best-practice method for dealing with missing price observations in consumer price statistics.
The explanation comes after the July 2026 inflation figures showed a sharp acceleration in public transportation services inflation, with the sub-class rising to 14.7% from 1.3% a year earlier.
The transport category also recorded a significant increase in the annual inflation rate, rising to 9.3% from a deflation of 1.2% in July 2025.
The other major contributor was the operation of personal transport equipment, where annual inflation rose to 11.3% from a deflation of 3.0% in July 2025.
The increase in this sub-class was mainly driven by higher prices for petrol and diesel, which rose from a deflation rate of 7.2% to inflation of 15.5%.
Licence and registration fees increased from 0.0% to 8.7%, while spare parts and accessories rose from 0.5% to 6.0%.
Meanwhile, inflation for the purchase of vehicles moderated to 1.0% in July 2026, from 2.3% in July 2025.
On a monthly basis, the transport category recorded a deflation rate of 3.1% in July 2026, compared with 0.4% in June.
The NSA’s clarification indicates that the 15.4% rail transportation inflation figure should be interpreted as a movement in the consumer price index for the rail transportation item, rather than as evidence that railway operators increased freight charges by 15.4% or that the cost of moving goods by rail rose by that amount.
