Consumer prices 1985–2026 · producer prices 2019–2026
The cost of living,
measured monthly since 1985.
Two price indices, both compiled by the Bureau of Statistics: what households pay, and what producers charge. The national average hides a persistent gap between Malé and the atolls.
Four decades of the shopping basket
The Consumer Price Index runs monthly from January 1985. It is rebased to 2022 = 100, so the level is only meaningful against itself — what matters is the rate of change.
national, year on year
year on year
year on year — consistently above Malé
2022 = 100
Year-on-year inflation, national
Percentage change against the same month a year earlier. The series peaks at +37.3% in Jan 1992 and bottoms at -14.2% in Nov 1988.
Malé and the atolls do not share a price level
Separate indices are compiled for Malé and for the rest of the country. Atoll inflation has run above Malé for most of the past decade — transport costs land on top of everything shipped out of the capital.
Which prices actually moved
Thirteen COICOP divisions make up the index. In Jul 2026 the spread between the fastest and slowest runs to 13.4 percentage points — an average that nobody experiences.
Inflation by division · Jul 2026
Year-on-year change by COICOP division. Bars right of the line are rising prices, left are falling. Select one to trace it over time.
Transport
Year-on-year change in the transport division over the last ten years.
What you cannot choose not to buy
The Essential Commodities Price Index tracks a short list — rice, fish, milk, cooking gas, soap — rather than the whole of household spending. It is published for Malé only, and it is currently running 4.2 points above the headline index for the same city.
year on year, Malé
the whole basket, same month
Nov 2022 = 100
largest twelve-month increase
Essentials against the whole basket
Year-on-year change in the essentials index and in the Malé consumer price index. Both are Malé, so the gap between them is the difference between what a household must buy and what it buys in total.
What moved · Jul 2026
Year-on-year change for each commodity in the basket. These are the items a household has least freedom to substitute away from.
What producers charge
The Producer Price Index measures prices at the factory gate rather than the till. It starts in January 2019, which means its base year is the last full year before the pandemic — the resort index shows exactly what that did to room rates.
Jun 2026 · 2019 = 100
Jun 2026 · 2019 = 100
Jun 2026 · 2019 = 100
Jun 2026 · 2019 = 100
Electricity, Water, Waste · producer price index
January 2019 = 100. Latest reading 98.6 in Jun 2026.
Pump prices
Retail petrol and diesel in rufiyaa per litre, from the monthly indicators release. Fuel feeds straight into transport costs, which is why the transport division of the CPI moves with it.
Latest: petrol MVR 16.01, diesel MVR 17.54 per litre in May 2026.