Belize’s Inflation Climbs to 4.3% as Cost of Living Rises

Prices continued to rise up to April 2026, according to data presented today by the Statistical Institute of Belize. The national inflation rate stood at 4.3 percent compared to the same period in 2025, reflecting a continued increase in the cost of goods and services. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has also increased from 119.6 to 124.8 over the one-year period, signaling higher overall price levels in the economy. The CPI is a key indicator used to measure changes in the cost of living by tracking price movements of commonly purchased goods and services. Jaime Crismo of SIB’s Economics Statistics Department provided a breakdown of the recent figures.

Jaime Crismo, Statistician II, Statistical Institute of Belize: “On the left, we have the national monthly inflation rate in Belize from May 2021 to May 2026. Inflation was at 2.8% in May 2021 and then it rose sharply to a peak of 7.4% in mid 2022. Since then, inflation generally trended downward through 2023 to 2025. However, during the first five months in 2026, inflation went up and currently stands at 4.3%. For the first five months in 2026 when compared to the same period in 2025, the cost of goods and services purchased by household increased by 2% on average. This was mainly due to an increase in almost all of the major CPI categories. Looking at the contribution by category, transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels were the primary drivers of the overall rise in consumer prices. On the other hand, the information and communication category was the only category to record a decline with a negative inflation rate of 0.03%. In addition to the increases in fuel, the transport category was also up due to the increase in passenger transport by road, which went up by 3.3% and passenger transport by air which went up by 4.9%. We can observe that Punta Gorda experienced the highest year to date inflation rate of 3.1%. Consumers in this municipality experienced above average prices, increases for food and non-alcoholic beverages, restaurants and accommodation services, transport, clothing, and food, footwear, LPG, alcoholic beverages, and domestic and household services. On the other hand, Belize City experienced the lowest year-to-date inflation rate of 1.6 percent.”

SIB data shows increase across several key categories, with transportation recording the highest rise, followed by health services, food, and other household-related costs. The figures indicate variation across sectors, contributing to continued pressure on household spending. SIB reports that the main contributor to inflation during the period was transportation, while higher prices were also recorded in electricity, food, and LPG.