Inflation in Nicaragua
In the year to May 2026, consumer prices in Nicaragua rose 3.7%, down from 4.0% a month earlier. Since January 2005 prices have risen 292.9%, which means C$100 then buys what C$392.87 buys now, so the same basket of goods costs 3.9 times what it did.
Cumulative & Yearly Inflation
Inflation in Nicaragua by year
Inflation is the change in that year's average prices against the year before, which is the figure usually quoted. The last two columns take C$100 in January of that year and show what it is worth in May 2026, the most recent month on record. Only years measured in full are listed, so the year now running appears once it ends.
| Year | Inflation | C$100 is now | Cumulative inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 5.5% | 243.14 | 143.1% |
| 2020 | 3.7% | 140.13 | 40.1% |
| 2024 | 4.6% | 107.48 | 7.5% |
| 2025 | 2.1% | 104.62 | 4.6% |
Every year from 2006 to 2025
| Year | Inflation | C$100 is now | Cumulative inflation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 9.1% | 356.29 | 256.3% |
| 2007 | 11.1% | 326.65 | 226.6% |
| 2008 | 19.8% | 278.50 | 178.5% |
| 2009 | 3.7% | 247.66 | 147.7% |
| 2010 | 5.5% | 243.14 | 143.1% |
| 2011 | 8.1% | 225.09 | 125.1% |
| 2012 | 7.2% | 207.94 | 107.9% |
| 2013 | 7.1% | 192.99 | 93.0% |
| 2014 | 6.0% | 183.47 | 83.5% |
| 2015 | 4.0% | 173.99 | 74.0% |
| 2016 | 3.5% | 168.60 | 68.6% |
| 2017 | 3.9% | 162.30 | 62.3% |
| 2018 | 4.9% | 154.05 | 54.0% |
| 2019 | 5.4% | 149.12 | 49.1% |
| 2020 | 3.7% | 140.13 | 40.1% |
| 2021 | 4.9% | 135.81 | 35.8% |
| 2022 | 10.5% | 126.12 | 26.1% |
| 2023 | 8.4% | 113.70 | 13.7% |
| 2024 | 4.6% | 107.48 | 7.5% |
| 2025 | 2.1% | 104.62 | 4.6% |
A short history of inflation in Nicaragua
The Food and Fuel Shock (2008)
Nicaraguan inflation peaked at 23.9% in the year to August 2008, then fell to below zero within twelve months. Both movements were the same event: the worldwide spike in food and oil prices through the first half of 2008 and its collapse that autumn. Nicaragua imports its fuel and a large share of its food, and food is a heavy share of household spending, so world prices arrive in the index with little to soften them.
The córdoba was devalued on a published schedule against the dollar for decades, which added a steady few points a year on top of whatever the world was doing. The crawl was halted in 2024.
Post-Covid Inflation (2021 to 2023)
In Nicaragua, prices rose fastest in October 2022, at 12.2%. The causes of the post-Covid inflation were global in nature, beginning with the lockdowns: factories and ports closed and the shipping between them fell out of sequence, so goods took longer to make and longer to arrive. Governments had spent heavily supporting household incomes through those closures, so when restrictions lifted there was money waiting to be spent and not enough on the shelves to spend it on. Then in February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, disrupting two of the world's largest suppliers of wheat, fertiliser, oil and gas at once, and the cost of everything grown, heated or transported rose with them.
Because the causes were shared, so was the timing: most countries peaked within a few months of one another in late 2022. The major inflation events covers this episode and the others in more detail.
Common questions about inflation in Nicaragua
What is the current inflation rate in Nicaragua?
Prices in Nicaragua rose 3.7% in the year to May 2026. That is down from 4.0% a month earlier.
What would C$100 in January 2005 be worth today?
C$100.00 in January 2005 has the same buying power as C$392.87 in May 2026, a rise of 292.9%.
What would C$100 in January 2010 be worth today?
C$100.00 in January 2010 has the same buying power as C$243.14 in May 2026, a rise of 143.1%.
What would C$100 in January 2020 be worth today?
C$100.00 in January 2020 has the same buying power as C$140.13 in May 2026, a rise of 40.1%.
How inflation in Nicaragua is measured
The figures on this page come from the IMF's CPI dataset, with the original data from Nicaragua's INIDE. The series is indexed so that a chosen base year equals 100, and the calculator works out the ratio between any two dates you pick.
The currency shown is the Nicaraguan córdoba (C$). Coverage runs from January 2005 to May 2026, and updates automatically as each new release is published. Figures for the most recent periods can be revised by the statistics office after first publication.
Use this data
Click the reference to select it.
Compare Inflation. “Inflation in Nicaragua.” Figures for May 2026. https://compareinflation.com/inflation-in-nicaragua/
Download the full series (CSV) — 257 months, January 2005 to May 2026, with the annual rate for each.