MAKING INFLATION UNDERSTANDABLE: DATA JOURNALISM AND PUBLIC INTERPRETATION OF ECONOMIC STATISTICS IN NIGERIA.

Abstract

This study examined how data journalism contributes to public interpretation of economic statistics on inflation in Nigeria. Anchored on Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller, 1988), the study investigated the movement of inflation between January and June 2026, the forms of economic data employed in inflation reporting, and how audiences interpreted reported inflation statistics. A multi-tier descriptive longitudinal research design was employed, combining census-based analysis of six monthly NBS inflation observations, quantitative content analysis of 450 news reports from ten systematically sampled Nigerian media outlets, and systematic analysis of publicly accessible social-media responses to the sampled reports. A structured coding instrument was used to examine statistical indicators, comparative measures, contextual explanations, source attribution and visualisation, while inter-coder reliability produced a Krippendorff's alpha of .89. Findings showed that the CPI increased from 127.4 in January to 143.0 in June, while food inflation reached 17.52% despite a marginal decline in headline inflation to 15.91% in June. The media strongly prioritised headline inflation figures (100.0%) and temporal comparisons (84.0%), but made limited use of state-level data (34.7%) and visualisations (31.6%). Audience responses revealed substantial difficulty distinguishing a decline in the inflation rate from an actual reduction in prices. The study concludes that Nigerian economic journalism effectively disseminates inflation statistics but remains insufficiently interpretive. It recommends plain-language statistical communication, specialised data-journalism training, greater use of visualisation, and consumer-centred storytelling that connects macroeconomic indicators with household economic experience

Received: 07-08-2026 | Accepted: 30-08-2026 | Published: 29-09-2026