The National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane) reported that Colombia's annual inflation for February 2026 was 5.29%, a slight slowdown from January's 5.35%. The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) variation stood at 1.08%, driven by rises in education and food. This figure remains above the Central Bank's target range of 3%.
The Dane reported that Colombia's annual inflation for February 2026 reached 5.29%, below January's 5.35% and slightly above February 2025's 5.22%. The monthly CPI variation was 1.08%, less than the 1.14% from the same month last year, with a year-to-date accumulation of 2.27%. This pattern shows a slow deceleration, still above the Central Bank's 3% target.
Divisions with the highest monthly variations included education at 5.64%, restaurants and hotels at 1.38%, and non-alcoholic food and beverages at 1.30%. Annually, restaurants and hotels rose 9.61%, health 7.82%, alcoholic beverages and tobacco 7.76%, and education 7.44%. Piedad Urdinola, Dane's director, explained: “For February, we observe a very typical behavior for this month: food was the division with the greatest contribution, with 0.24 percentage points; however, its variation was 1.30%. Meanwhile, education, very closely, recorded a contribution of 0.23 percentage points and the highest variation”.
In cities, Tunja had the highest monthly variation at 1.76%, while Valledupar had the lowest at 0.55%. Annually, Pereira led with 6.20%, followed by Medellín at 6.19% and Bucaramanga at 5.80%. Moderating factors included drops in fuels (-2.57%) and electricity (-1.23%).
Labor Minister Antonio Sanguino welcomed the data: “Good news for the Colombian economy in the second month of the vital salary”. Anif's José Ignacio López noted it was below market expectations of 5.48%. DaviBank's Jackeline Piraján highlighted education's role in February's typical monthly peak.
