As of April 2025, the inflation rate in the European Union was 2.4 percent, with prices rising fastest in Romania, which had an inflation rate of 4.9 percent. By contrast, both France and Cyprus saw low inflation rates during the same period, with France having the lowest inflation rate in the EU during this month. The rate of inflation in the EU in the October 2022 was higher than at any other time, with the peak prior to 2021 recorded in July 2008 when prices were growing by 4.4 percent year-on-year. Before the recent rises in inflation, price rises in the EU had been kept at relatively low levels, with the inflation rate remaining below three percent between January 2012 and August 2021. Rapid recovery and energy costs driving inflation The reopening of the European economy in 2021 following the sudden shock of COVID-19 in 2020 is behind many of the factors that have caused prices to rise so quickly in 2022. Global supply chains have not yet recovered from production issues, travel restrictions, and workforce problems brought about by the pandemic. Rising energy costs have only served to exacerbate supply problems, particularly with regard to the transport sector, which had the highest inflation rate of any sector in the EU in December 2021. High inflation rates mirrored in the U.S. The high inflation rates seen in Europe have been reflected in other parts of the world. In the United States, for example, the consumer price index reached a 40-year-high of seven percent in December 2021, influenced by many of the same factors driving European inflation. Nevertheless, it is hoped that once these supply chain issues ease, inflation levels will start to fall throughout the course of 2022.

European Union inflation rate for 2023 was 6.30%, a 2.53% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>European Union inflation rate for 2022 was <strong>8.83%</strong>, a <strong>6.28% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>European Union inflation rate for 2021 was <strong>2.55%</strong>, a <strong>2.08% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>European Union inflation rate for 2020 was <strong>0.48%</strong>, a <strong>1.15% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly. The Laspeyres formula is generally used.

The inflation rate in the European Union was 2.7 percent in December 2024, a significant decline from the high-point reached in October 2022 of 11.5 percent, the highest rate of inflation recorded in the provided time period. Before 2021, the inflation rate in the EU peaked at 4.4 percent in July 2008 and was lowest in January 2015, when prices were shrinking by 0.5 percent. Currently, Romania has the highest inflation rate among EU member states at 5.5 percent, while Ireland has the lowest inflation rate, at 0.1 percent. What is causing high inflation? Many factors have come together at the same time to drive the rise in prices currently being felt across Europe. Although the demand side of the economy returned quite quickly after the COVID-19 restrictions of 2020, global supply chains are yet to catch up. In particular, energy and food prices have increased due to this bottleneck, especially after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. As of March 2022, the inflation rate for energy was 40.2 percent in the EU and was 5.9 percent for food.

This data package includes the underlying data files to replicate the data and charts presented in The Inflation Surge in Europe by Patrick Honohan, PIIE Policy Brief 24-2.

If you use the data, please cite as: Honohan, Patrick. 2024. The Inflation Surge in Europe. PIIE Policy Brief 24-2. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Euro Area inflation rate for 2023 was 5.78%, a 2.69% decline from 2022.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Euro Area inflation rate for 2022 was <strong>8.47%</strong>, a <strong>5.98% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>Euro Area inflation rate for 2021 was <strong>2.49%</strong>, a <strong>2.3% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
<li>Euro Area inflation rate for 2020 was <strong>0.19%</strong>, a <strong>1.25% decline</strong> from 2019.</li>
</ul>Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly. The Laspeyres formula is generally used.

Energy Inflation In the Euro Area remained unchanged at -3.60 percent in May. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Euro Area Energy Inflation.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in the Euro area from December 2022 to December 2024. The term inflation means the devaluation of money caused by a permanent increase of the price level for products (consumer goods, investment goods). The Consumer Price Index shows the price development for private expenses and shows the current level of inflation when increasing. In December 2024, the inflation rate in the Euro area reached 2.4 percent compared to the same month of the previous year.

The dataset contains the average annual inflation rates based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) in the European Union. The HICP gives comparable measures of inflation for the countries and country groups for which it is produced. It is an economic indicator that measures the change over time…

In December 2024, energy prices increased by approximately 0.7 percent in the European Union, when compared with a year earlier, according to the harmonized index of consumer prices index. This represents a change compared to the dramatic deflation of energy prices experienced between September 2023 and April 2024. During December 2024, the inflation rate for food prices was three percent, while in non-energy industrial goods, costs were estimated to have gone up by 0.7 percent. For services, prices in December 2024 have increased by 4.2 percent compared to the previous year.

Core Inflation Rate MoM In the Euro Area decreased to 0 percent in May from 1 percent in April of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Euro Area Core Inflation Rate MoM.

The inflation rate for all items in the European Union was 2.7 percent in December 2024 compared to the same month in the previous year. This was particularly driven by rising prices in the alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and narcotics category which had an annual inflation rate of 5.6 percent, as well as rising costs in the restaurants and hotels category, which had an inflation rate of fve percent.

Rent Inflation In the Euro Area increased to 3 percent in April from 2.90 percent in March of 2025. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for Euro Area Rent Inflation.

This dataset provides values for CORE INFLATION RATE reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Graph and download economic data for Inflation, consumer prices for the European Union (FPCPITOTLZGEUU) from 1960 to 2023 about consumer prices, EU, Europe, consumer, and inflation.

This dataset provides values for FOOD INFLATION reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Since 2021, the large economies of Western Europe have been experiencing a surge in inflation, with inflation reaching as high as 11.84 percent in Italy during October 2022. During 2023 the rate of inflation in all these economies has fallen significantly, reaching as low as 0.67 percent in Italy and 3.17 percent in Germany. This inflationary episode is understood by economists to have been caused by several factors, notably the supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, pent-up consumer demand which was released after lockdowns ended, as well as policies of monetary and fiscal stimulus during the pandemic aimed at boosting economic activity.

The average for 2023 based on 40 countries was 8.5 percent. The highest value was in Turkey: 53.9 percent and the lowest value was in Switzerland: 2.1 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The statistic shows the inflation rate in the European Union and the Euro area from 2019 to 2022, with projections up until 2029. The term inflation, also known as currency devaluation (drop in the value of money), is characterized by a steady rise in prices for finished products (consumer goods, capital goods). The consumer price index tracks price trends of private consumption expenditure, and shows an increase in the index's current level of inflation. In 2022, the inflation rate in the EU was about 9.32 percent compared to the previous year. The economic situation in the European Union and the euro area The ongoing Eurozone crisis, which initially emerged in 2009, has dramatically affected most countries in the European Union. The crisis primarily prevented many countries from refinancing their debt without help from a third party and slowed economic growth throughout the entire EU. As a result, general gross debt escalated annually in the euro area and more prominently in the EU. The collective sum of debt is most likely going to continue, given the current global economic situation as well as Europe’s recovering, however struggling economy. Struggles are primarily evident in the EU’s budget balance, which saw itself in the negative every year over the same timeframe as the eurozone crisis, although the balances improved on a yearly basis. Despite economical struggles, the EU still grew in population almost every year over the past decade, primarily due to a high standard of living and job opportunities, compared to many of its surrounding neighbors.

This dataset provides values for INFLATION RATE!S reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

In addition to the national consumer price index, Statistics Netherlands compiles the harmonised CPI of the Netherlands for the European Union (EU).

Data available from: January 1996 till December 2015

Changes as of 16 June 2016: None, this table is stopped.

Status of the figures: The figures in this table are final.

Changes as of 10 March 2016 Eurostat has changed figures for the Eurozone and the European Union (EU).

Changes as of 10 December 2015 New source material has led to an adjustment of the HICP for The Netherlands in October.

When will new figures be published? Not applicable. This table is succeeded by Consumer prices; price index 2015=100. See paragraph 3.