Annual inflation up to 1.9% in the euro area
Announcement: changes to the HICP
As of 4 February 2026, several methodological changes have taken effect in the HICP. The index is compiled according to the new European Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose version 2, aligned with the UN COICOP 2018 classification. Games of chance are included in the HICP as part of Recreation services under the division of Recreation, sport and culture. The index reference period is also updated to 2025=100.
Overview
The euro area annual inflation rate was 1.9% in February 2026, up from 1.7% in January. A year earlier, the rate was 2.3%. European Union annual inflation was 2.1% in February 2026, up from 2.0% in January. A year earlier, the rate was 2.7%. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The lowest annual rates were registered in Denmark (0.5%), Cyprus (0.9%) and Czechia (1.0%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (8.3%), Slovakia (4.0%) and Croatia (3.9%). Compared with January 2026, annual inflation fell in eleven Member States, remained stable in four and rose in twelve.
In February 2026, services (+1.54 percentage points, pp), food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.48 pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+0.17 pp) contributed positively to the annual euro area inflation rate, while energy (-0.30 pp) contributed negatively.
Inflation rates (%) measured by the HICP |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Annual rate |
Monthly rate |
|||||||
Feb 25 |
Sept 25 |
Oct 25 |
Nov 25 |
Dec 25 |
Jan 26 |
Feb 26 |
Feb 26 |
|
Euro area |
2.3 |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
1.9 |
0.6 |
EU |
2.7 |
2.6 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
0.6 |
Belgium |
4.4 |
2.7 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
2.2 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
2.5 |
Bulgaria |
3.9 |
4.0 |
3.8 |
3.7 |
3.5 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
0.2 |
Czechia |
2.7 |
2.0 |
2.3 |
1.8 |
1.7 |
1.2 |
1.0 |
-0.1 |
Denmark |
2.0 |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.9 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
0.9 |
Germany |
2.6 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
2.5 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
0.4 |
Estonia |
5.1 |
5.3 |
4.5 |
4.7 |
4.0 |
3.8 |
3.2 |
0.8 |
Ireland |
1.5 |
2.7 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
2.7 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
0.8 |
Greece |
3.0 |
1.8 |
1.6 |
2.8 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
3.1 |
0.3 |
Spain |
2.9 |
3.0 |
3.2 |
3.2 |
3.0 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
0.4 |
France |
0.9 |
1.1 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.4 |
1.1 |
0.7 |
Croatia |
4.7 |
4.6 |
4.0 |
4.3 |
3.8 |
3.6 |
3.9 |
0.3 |
Italy |
1.7 |
1.7 |
1.3 |
1.1 |
1.2 |
1.0 |
1.5 |
0.5 |
Cyprus |
2.3 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
1.2 |
0.9 |
0.0 |
Latvia |
3.7 |
4.2 |
4.3 |
3.8 |
3.4 |
2.9 |
2.4 |
0.3 |
Lithuania |
3.2 |
3.7 |
3.7 |
3.6 |
3.2 |
2.8 |
3.3 |
1.0 |
Luxembourg |
1.9 |
3.1 |
3.0 |
3.5 |
3.3 |
1.6 |
1.8 |
1.4 |
Hungary |
5.7 |
4.3 |
4.2 |
3.7 |
3.3 |
2.3 |
1.6 |
0.0 |
Malta |
2.0 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
0.4 |
Netherlands |
3.5 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
2.6 |
2.7 |
2.2 |
2.3 |
1.5 |
Austria |
3.4 |
3.9 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
3.8 |
2.1 |
2.3 |
0.8 |
Poland |
4.4 |
2.9 |
2.8 |
2.6 |
2.6 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
0.4 |
Portugal |
2.5 |
1.9 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
2.4 |
1.9 |
2.1 |
0.1 |
Romania |
5.2 |
8.6 |
8.4 |
8.6 |
8.6 |
8.5 |
8.3 |
0.6 |
Slovenia |
1.9 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
2.4 |
2.6 |
2.4 |
2.8 |
0.6 |
Slovakia |
4.1 |
4.6 |
3.9 |
3.9 |
4.1 |
4.3 |
4.0 |
0.1 |
Finland |
1.5 |
2.2 |
1.4 |
1.5 |
1.7 |
1.0 |
1.8 |
1.2 |
Sweden |
2.8 |
3.2 |
3.1 |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
0.7 |
Iceland |
3.4 |
4.2 |
3.9 |
3.4 |
4.0 |
4.4 |
4.7 |
1.3 |
Norway |
3.2 |
3.6 |
2.9 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
3.5 |
2.6 |
0.7 |
Switzerland |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Source dataset: prc_hicp_minr
|
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Tables
Euro area inflation rate (%), selected aggregates |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weights (‰) |
Annual rate |
Monthly rate |
|||||||
2026 |
Feb 25 |
Sept 25 |
Oct 25 |
Nov 25 |
Dec 25 |
Jan 26 |
Feb 26 |
Feb 26 |
|
All-items HICP |
1000.0 |
2.3 |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
1.9 |
0.6 |
All-items excluding: energy |
909.5 |
2.6 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.4 |
0.6 |
energy, unprocessed food |
858.0 |
2.6 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.2 |
2.3 |
0.6 |
energy, food, alcohol & tobacco |
719.8 |
2.6 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.2 |
2.4 |
0.8 |
energy, seasonal food |
884.0 |
2.6 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.4 |
0.6 |
tobacco |
979.7 |
2.2 |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
1.6 |
1.8 |
0.6 |
Food, alcohol & tobacco |
189.8 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
2.5 |
0.3 |
processed food, alcohol & tobacco |
138.3 |
2.7 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.8 |
0.0 |
unprocessed food |
51.5 |
2.7 |
3.9 |
2.7 |
2.7 |
3.5 |
4.2 |
4.6 |
1.0 |
Energy |
90.5 |
0.2 |
-0.4 |
-0.9 |
-0.5 |
-1.9 |
-4.0 |
-3.1 |
0.6 |
Non-energy industrial goods |
252.8 |
0.6 |
0.7 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.7 |
0.7 |
Services |
466.9 |
3.7 |
3.2 |
3.4 |
3.5 |
3.4 |
3.2 |
3.4 |
0.8 |
Source dataset: prc_hicp_minr and prc_hicp_iw
|
|||||||||
Contributions to the euro area annual inflation rate (pp), selected aggregates |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feb 25 |
Sept 25 |
Oct 25 |
Nov 25 |
Dec 25 |
Jan 26 |
Feb 26 |
|
Food, alcohol & tobacco |
0.52 |
0.58 |
0.48 |
0.46 |
0.48 |
0.51 |
0.48 |
processed food, alcohol & tobacco |
0.38 |
0.38 |
0.34 |
0.33 |
0.30 |
0.29 |
0.25 |
unprocessed food |
0.14 |
0.20 |
0.14 |
0.14 |
0.18 |
0.22 |
0.24 |
Energy |
0.01 |
-0.03 |
-0.08 |
-0.04 |
-0.18 |
-0.39 |
-0.30 |
Non-energy industrial goods |
0.14 |
0.19 |
0.15 |
0.13 |
0.09 |
0.09 |
0.17 |
Services |
1.66 |
1.49 |
1.55 |
1.59 |
1.57 |
1.46 |
1.54 |
Source dataset: prc_hicp_ctr
|
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Notes for users
Revisions and timetable
A flash estimate of euro area inflation is issued at the end of each reference month. The euro area flash estimate for February 2026, published on 3 March 2026, was 1.9%.
The next flash estimate of euro area inflation with data for March 2026 is scheduled for 31 March 2026.
Methods and definitions
Annual inflation is the price change of consumer goods and services between the current month and the same month of the previous year. Monthly inflation is the price change between the current month and the previous month.
A contribution shows how much of the annual inflation rate comes from a particular component of the HICP. The contributions are calculated according to a method which ensures their additivity (allowing for rounding).
Geographical information
Up to 31 December 2025, the euro area included Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland (EA20). From 1 January 2026, the euro area also includes Bulgaria (EA21).
The aggregate data series published in this Euro indicator release refer to the evolving composition of the euro area. Thus, Euro indicator data for months up to December 2025 represent EA20 series, while Euro indicator data for January 2026 onwards represent EA21 series.
The European Union includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden (EU27).
The euro area and European Union data refer to the respective country compositions at a specific point in time. Changes in the composition of these aggregates are incorporated using a chain index formula.
For more information
Get in touch
Further information on data
E-mail: estat-hicp@ec.europa.eu