Medicines and health products inflation analysis for Jan 2025

Last updated Feb 2025 by Walter (source: StatSSA)

Medicines and health products key statistics

What is happening to Medicines and health products prices? 📈

3,4% over 12 months
vs historical average of 5,1%
Running below historical average 🐌

Speeding Up or Slowing Down?

Decelerating 🐌
Current: 3,4% vs Previous: 3,4%

Year-on-year Medicines and health products inflation rate vs CPI headline

What happened to Medicines and health products prices over the last twelve months?

Medicines and health products prices have increased by 3,4% over the last 12 months. This compares to overall consumer inflation (as measured by CPI) of 3,2%.

How does Medicines and health products price inflation compare to headline CPI and other major sectors?

Basket 12m change
1 Electricity, gas and other fuels 11,8%
2 Non-alcoholic beverages 9,0%
3 Accommodation services 8,2%
4 Insurance 8,0%
5 Primary and secondary education 6,6%
6 Tertiary education 5,9%
7 Water supply and miscellaneous services 5,5%
8 Health services 5,0%
9 Tobacco 4,8%
10 Restaurants 4,0%
11 Alcoholic beverages 3,9%
12 Goods and services for routine household maintenance 3,5%
13 Medicines and health products 3,4%
14 Newspapers, books and stationery 3,3%
15 CPI Headline 3,2%
16 Recreational and cultural services 2,5%
17 Purchase of vehicles 2,4%
18 Owners equivalent rent 2,4%
19 Footwear 1,8%
20 Clothing 1,5%
21 Food 1,5%
22 Maintenance and repair 1,3%
23 Information and communication services 0,8%
24 Passenger transport services 0,7%
25 Furniture, furnishings and loose carpets -0,9%
26 Recreational goods -2,2%
27 Household textiles, appliances, tableware and equipment -2,7%
28 Package holidays -2,9%
29 Operation of personal transport equipment -3,1%
30 Information and communication equipment -15,5%

Medicines and health products ranks 13 out of 30 major sectors, with a 3,4% price increase over the past 12 months. This is above the overall consumer price inflation rate of 3,2%, indicating that Medicines and health products prices are rising faster than most other consumer goods and services.

Is Medicines and health products price inflation accelerating or slowing down?

What was the inflation rate in Medicines and health products in previous month?

Previous, year-on-year inflation in Medicines and health products came in at 3,4% (Invalid Date). The most recent year-on-year inflation rate for Invalid Date was 3,4%. That means, we have seen a cost deceleration compared to the previous 12 months.

How has the inflation rate in Medicines and health products changed over the last two years?

If we look back over a longer period, we see that Medicines and health products year-on-year inflation has been averaging 5,9% over the past 2 years. The most recent year-on-year inflation rate for Invalid Date was 3,4%. That means, Medicines and health products most recent year-on-year price inflation of 3,4% is below the average inflation rate of 5,1% over the past 2 years. The trend is down.

How does 3,4% in Medicines and health products inflation compare historically? Has Medicines and health products inflation been higher or lower historically?

The most recent year-on-year inflation rate in Invalid Date was 3,4%.
The lowest year-on-year inflation rate was 2,0% in Invalid Date.
The highest year-on-year inflation rate was 15,5% in Invalid Date.
The historical year-on-year average inflation rate for Medicines and health products is 5,1%.

How much did Medicines and health products cost 1 year, 2 years, 5 years and 10 years ago?

Period Rand amount Total Change
Current 1 000 -
1 year ago 967 3,4%
2 years ago 897 11,4%
5 years ago 799 25,2%
10 years ago 635 57,5%

Costs relating to Medicines and health products which cost R1,000 today would have cost you R967 one year ago, R897 two years ago, and R799 five years ago. This shows how the purchasing power of your money has declined over time due to inflation in Medicines and health products prices.