Data extracted in March 2026
Planned update: March 2027
Highlights
In 2025, the highest annual inflation rates among EU countries were recorded in in Romania (6.8%), Estonia (4.8%), and Croatia and Hungary (each 4.4%).
In 2025, the highest annual price increases in the EU were recorded insurance and financial services (up 5.3%), greatly driven by increases in insurance connected with transport (8.0%), insurance connected with health (6.0%) and insurance connected with dwellings (5.7%).
HICP and CPI all-items, development of the annual average inflation rates, 2016-2025
Inflation is the increase in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy; the reverse situation is deflation, when the general level of prices falls. Inflation and deflation are usually measured by consumer price indices or retail price indices. Within the European Union (EU), a specific consumer price index has been developed — the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP). Other factors (such as wages) being equal, inflation in an economy means that the purchasing power of consumers falls as they are no longer able to purchase the same amount of goods and services with the same amount of money.
Inflation: price changes over time in the European Union
Over the last decade, EU inflation began at a low of 0.2% in 2016. From there the average annual inflation rate increased in 2017 (1.7%), and 2018 (1.9%). The rate subsequently decreased to 1.5% in 2019 and significantly dropped to 0.7% in 2020 under the impact of the COVID-19 measures[1]. It rose sharply to 2.9% in 2021, reaching a historical high of 9.2% in 2022. This rate decreased in 2023, but remained above the 2021 level at 6.4%. In 2024 the annual rate decreased to 2.6% and in 2025 again to 2.5% (see Figure 1).
The overall change in the HICP in the EU during the period 2016-2025 was 33.0%, or an annual average of 3.3%. Figure 1 shows comparative consumer price developments for several of the largest world economies. Price changes in Japan were generally lower than in the EU, whereas they were generally higher in the United States and China in the period 2016-2020. During the period 2016-2025, consumer prices rose by an annual average of 1.5% in Japan and 1.4% in China. Data for the United States was not available for 2025.
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Source: Eurostat (prc_hicp_ainr) and (OECD - Consumer price index - USA, China) and (OECD - Consumer price index - Japan)
Among the EU countries, Hungary (73.2%), Romania (61.8%) and Estonia (61.3%) registered the highest overall increases in the HICP between 2016 and 2025. By contrast, Cyprus experienced the lowest overall increase in the HICP during the same period (19.5%).
Looking at the latest annual data for the HICP (see Table 1), in 2025 consumer prices rose by as much as 6.8% in Romania. The next highest increases were recorded in Estonia (4.8%), Croatia and Hungary (each 4.4%). At the other end of the range, the lowest average annual inflation rates in 2025 were recorded in Cyprus (0.8%), France (0.9%), and Italy (1.6%).
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Source: Eurostat (prc_hicp_ainr)
Inflation rates by product
Looking at the latest annual developments in the EU for the period 2025 (see Figure 2), among the 13 main headings, consumer prices for insurance and financial services registered the highest increase in 2025, with an average of 5.3%, followed by education services with an average increase of 4.7%, while alcoholic beverages and tobacco rose by an average of 4.3%. By contrast, the price of information and communication fell by 1.7%. The other main headings all rose in 2025, between 0.4% and 4.3%.
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Source: Eurostat (prc_hicp_ainr)
Between 2016 and 2025, food and non-alcoholic beverages was the HICP main heading with the highest increase in the EU, 33.2%. The index for restaurants and accommodation services had the second-highest increase, 28.3%. By contrast, the price of Information and communication fell by 2.5% overall during the same period. The remaining main headings of the HICP recorded increases between 9.6% and 37.6% during this period (see 'Source data for tables and graphs').
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
The HICP is an index for measuring the change in prices of consumer goods and services acquired by households in monetary transactions. Certain categories of consumption expenditure are excluded from the HICP on the grounds that they pose practical problems for price collection, do not represent monetary transactions, or do not yet have a harmonised method of treatment. These include, for example, narcotics and owner-occupied housing. Goods and services are classified according to the European classification of individual consumption by purpose, version 2 (ECOICOP ver. 2). At the most disaggregated level currently available, Eurostat publishes over 400 sub-indices for consumer prices. The annual inflation rate measures the change of the index between 1 month and the same month of the previous year, and the monthly rate compares indices between 2 consecutive months. The indices are compiled according to a common approach, providing comparable measures of consumer price changes across countries, as well as for different country groupings, namely: the euro area, the European Union, and the European Economic Area (which includes the EU Member States plus Iceland and Norway).
HICPs have a common reference year (currently 2025 = 100). Normally the indices are used to calculate percentage changes that show price increases/decreases. Although the rates of change shown in the tables and figures for this article are annual averages, the basic indices are compiled and published on a monthly basis.
Since October 2001, a flash estimate of the euro area inflation rate has been published at the end of each reference month. This estimate, is calculated based on data received directly from the euro area countries, and is re-published, with or without revisions, in the middle of the following month once a full set of data is available.
Context
The HICP is used for measuring inflation in the euro area; the primary objective of the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy is to maintain price stability. In 2021, the ECB Governing Council specified that "price stability is best maintained by aiming for a two per cent inflation target over the medium term". HICPs are also used for the purposes of monetary policy and assessing inflation convergence as required in the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union among other uses.
Footnotes
- More information on COVID-19 and the HICP can be found in the HICP methodology ↑
Explore further
Other articles
Database
- Harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) (prc_hicp_ecoicop2), see:
- HICP - monthly data (index, monthly rate of change, annual rate of change and 12-month average rate of change) (prc_hicp_minr)
- HICP - annual data (average index and rate of change) (prc_hicp_ainr)
- HICP – first released data (prc_hicp_fpd)
- HICP at constant tax rates (index, monthly rate of change and annual rate of change) (prc_hicp_ct)
- HICP - contributions to euro area annual inflation (in percentage points) (prc_hicp_ctrb)
- HICP - administered prices composition (prc_hicp_admp)
- HICP - country weights (prc_hicp_cw)
- HICP - item weights (prc_hicp_iw)
- Harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) (t_prc_hicp)
Thematic section
Visualisation
Methodology
ESMS metadata files
- Harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) (ESMS metadata file — prc_hicp_esms)
Publications