Harmonized indices of consumer prices, February 2011.
Date: 2011-03-18
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, consumer price, economic statistics, harmonisation of prices, inflation, price index

Economy and finance 

Author:  Tatiana MRLIANOVA 

D a t a   i n   f o c u s  
4/2011 

HARMONISED INDICES OF CONSUMER PRICES 
FEBRUARY 2011 

EURO AREA1)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.4% IN FEBRUARY 2011, 

UP FROM 2.3% IN JANUARY 

EU2)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.8% IN FEBRUARY 2011, 

UNCHANGED FROM JANUARY 

Figure 1: Annual inflation rates (in %), February 2010-February 2011

Euro area
US CPI

EU
JP CPI

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

-2.0

02/10

03/10

04/10

05/10

06/10

07/10

08/10

09/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

01/11

02/11

  Sources: Eurostat (online data code:  prc_hicp_manr), US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Statistics Bureau of Japan 

Figure 2: Annual inflation rates (in %), February 2011*

1.8 1.9 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.7 2.8 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

7.6

5.5

4.6

3.8 3.9 4.0 4.2 4.2

8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

0.0

1.2

0.9

Ireland

Slovenia
Sweden
Czech Republic
Netherlands
France

Germany
Italy

Euro area

Denmark

Malta EU

Lithuania

Cyprus

Austria

Poland

Spain
Belgium

Portugal

Slovakia

Finland

Luxembourg
Latvia
United Kingdom
Greece

Hungary

Bulgaria

Estonia
Romania

  * Data for France, the Netherlands and Austria are provisional. Data for the United Kingdom are of January 2011. 
   Source: Eurostat (online data code: prc_hicp_manr) 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 1: Index levels (2005=100) – HICP all-items 

Annual   
average 
index 

Mar 

Apr 

May 

Jun 

Jul 

Aug 

Sep 

Oct 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan 

Feb 

Monthly Indices 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2011 

2011 

111.40 

110.98  111.48  111.88  111.89  109.85  112.10  112.24  112.39  112.52  113.16  111.84  114.33 

108.4 

108.3 

108.2 

108.3 

108.3 

108.6 

108.7 

108.5 

108.6 

108.7 

110.0 

109.4 

110.1 

126.95 

125.46  126.09  126.45  126.95  127.26  127.22  128.21  128.92  129.32  129.94  129.91  130.78 

105.4 

117.68 

112.90 

108.79 

110.6 

112.02 

113.10 

112.37 

107.56 

109.53 

108.85 

115.62 

112.21 

110.49 

105.3 

105.3 

105.6 

105.5 

105.4 

105.6 

105.4 

105.5 

105.3 

105.5 

105.2 

106.1 

116.37  117.82  118.73  118.53  118.02  117.15  119.38  119.54  119.78  120.37  119.19  117.60 

112.58  113.36  113.40  113.53  112.26  112.51  113.54  114.05  114.41  115.04  113.54  113.65 

108.57  108.89  109.04  109.04  108.68  108.95  108.91  109.07  109.22  109.75  109.44r 109.97p

109.9 

110.9 

111.0 

111.1 

110.1 

110.3 

111.0 

111.8 

111.8 

112.2 

110.4 

110.6 

110.74  111.94  112.00  112.39  111.44  112.42  113.55  114.19  113.35  113.12  112.72  113.16 

112.46  112.94  113.26  113.18  112.76  113.85  113.84  113.97  114.13  114.67  114.27  116.02 

109.60  112.40  113.72  113.63  114.29  115.41  114.57  113.89  112.21  112.76  111.31  111.01 

108.08  108.45  108.35  107.64  107.01  107.16  107.96  108.22  108.06  107.77  107.68r 108.67p

109.46  109.69  109.63  109.63  109.07  109.36  109.78  110.18  110.18  110.93  110.86r  111.75p

108.20  108.66  108.86  109.09  109.51  109.37  109.27  109.65  109.73  110.15  110.68  110.62 

114.78  116.05  116.52  116.76  116.08  116.23  115.71  115.88  116.22  116.39  115.88  115.92 

111.79  112.19  112.26  112.25  112.40  112.28  112.27  112.30  112.62  112.90  115.23  115.56 

110.19  110.50  110.28  110.54  109.85  110.28  110.77  111.23  111.48  112.07  112.51  113.36 

109.84 

109.53  109.98  110.10  110.10  109.63  109.85  110.19  110.52  110.62  111.29  110.50  110.96p 

136.58 

135.04  136.60  136.62  136.03  136.74  136.96  137.25  137.50  138.24  139.30  139.94r 140.71 

113.7 

110.8 

137.91 

128.60 

129.70 

115.6 

135.17 

110.80 

113.3 

113.8 

114.0 

114.0 

114.3 

114.0 

113.8 

113.5 

113.7 

114.3 

115.2 

115.2 

110.7 

110.9 

110.8 

110.7 

110.6 

111.1 

111.5 

111.4 

111.5 

111.6 

111.7 

112.8 

136.75  137.92  137.88  138.41  138.70  137.72  138.31  138.75  138.99  139.20  140.96  141.35 

127.67  128.23  128.49  128.53  128.58  128.29  129.06  129.57  129.52  130.51  131.05  131.15 

128.36  129.47  130.38  130.61  130.66  130.04  129.86  130.37  130.64  131.18  132.35  132.87 

114.8 

115.3 

115.6 

115.9 

115.7 

115.3 

115.9 

116.3 

116.5 

116.9 

118.1 

118.3 

132.20  132.61  132.80  133.00  136.45  136.76  137.53  138.29  139.02  139.76  140.85  141.94 

110.72  110.64  110.74  110.67  110.18  110.12  111.02  111.38  111.59  112.27  111.27  111.81 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France3) 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Euro area 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom4) 

114.5 

113.5 

114.2 

114.4 

114.6 

114.3 

114.9 

114.9 

115.2 

115.6 

116.8 

116.9 

: 

EU5) 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA5) 

111.77 

111.26  111.74  111.91  111.95  111.63  111.85  112.16  112.49  112.66  113.39  112.93r 113.36p

152.79 

152.63  153.10  153.69  153.37  152.43  153.02  152.76  153.84  153.78  154.44  152.55  154.68 

111.8 

112.4 

112.6 

112.0 

111.9 

111.2 

110.7 

111.5 

111.6 

111.8 

113.3 

112.4 

113.0 

111.80 

111.30  111.78  111.94  111.98  111.66  111.87  112.18  112.51  112.68  113.42  112.95  113.39p

Switzerland 

104.1 

104.0 

104.9 

104.6 

104.3 

103.8 

103.8 

103.6 

104.2 

104.1 

104.0 

104.0 

104.3 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: prc_hicp_aind, prc_hicp_midx) 

2 

4/2011 — Data in focus  

 
 
  
 
 
Table 2: Inflation rates (in %) – HICP all-items 

12-month  
average rates 

Annual rates 

Dec 

Feb 

Feb  Mar 

Apr  May 

Jun 

Jul 

Aug 

Sep 

Oct 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan 

Feb 

2010  2011 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2011 

2011 

2.3 

1.2 

2.7 

2.8 

1.4 

3.7 

0.8 

0.5 

-0.3 

1.9 

1.2 

1.4 

2.1 

1.0 

2.5 

2.5 

1.2 

2.8 

2.7 

0.8 

3.4 

2.4 

1.2 

2.8 

2.4 

1.0 

2.8 

2.9 

1.3 

3.8 

3.1 

1.3 

4.5 

3.0 

1.6 

5.0 

3.4 

1.9 

5.4 

-1.6 

-1.1 

-2.4 

-2.4 

-2.5 

-1.9 

-2.0 

-1.2 

-1.2 

-1.0 

-0.8 

-0.8 

-0.2 

4.7 

2.0 

1.7 

1.6 

2.6 

2.8 

2.0 

0.9 

1.7 

1.4 

2.1 

0.7 

1.7 

5.0 

2.5 

  1.8p 

1.8 

2.6 

3.0 

2.4 

  1.2p 

  2.0p 

2.0 

2.2 

1.3 

2.0 

2.9 

0.4 

1.4 

1.1 

2.8 

2.3 

0.7 

0.3 

0.9 

0.2 

1.6 

-0.2 

1.3 

3.0 

1.2 

2.2 

-1.2 

1.2 

4.7 

2.7 

6.1 

1.9 

3.3 

3.5 

1.5 

2.3 

0.0 

1.8 

4.4 

2.6 

6.5 

1.7 

: 

7.5 

2.3 

6.1 

2.1 

1.7 

0.4 

1.8 

5.6 

3.4 

4.5 

2.8 

3.0 

3.1 

3.9 

2.7 

1.7 

1.4 

2.3 

3.2 

0.6 

0.7 

1.8 

0.6 

1.8 

0.3 

1.5 

1.6 

2.4 

0.4 

2.1 

4.7 

2.4 

1.9 

1.6 

2.5 

3.1 

0.8 

0.6 

1.8 

0.7 

2.7 

0.7 

1.6 

1.6 

3.0 

0.9 

2.4 

5.3 

2.5 

1.9 

1.6 

1.8 

3.1 

1.8 

0.4 

1.7 

1.1 

2.4 

0.7 

1.4 

1.7 

3.0 

1.0 

1.9 

5.2 

2.1 

1.7 

1.5 

2.1 

2.3 

1.8 

0.2 

1.8 

1.1 

2.1 

0.7 

1.3 

1.5 

2.5 

1.0 

1.7 

5.5 

1.8 

1.9 

1.8 

2.7 

2.9 

2.5 

1.3 

1.7 

1.9 

2.3 

1.0 

1.3 

1.7 

3.2 

1.6 

2.1 

5.6 

1.6 

1.6 

1.8 

3.4 

2.5 

3.0 

1.2 

1.6 

2.0 

2.4 

1.1 

1.3 

1.6 

3.2 

1.5 

2.3 

0.2 

5.7 

2.7 

4.2 

2.1 

3.7 

2.1 

0.5 

4.9 

2.3 

4.4 

1.9 

3.4 

2.1 

5.7 

2.9 

4.2 

2.5 

3.4 

2.0 

3.6 

2.0 

1.4 

3.4 

2.1 

1.3 

2.6 

2.1 

1.0 

0.9 

5.0 

2.4 

4.3 

1.6 

3.2 

1.9 

7.6 

1.8 

1.9 

0.5 

1.7 

3.6 

1.9 

7.1 

1.4 

3.1 

2.1 

6.2 

1.8 

2.1 

0.4 

1.8 

3.6 

1.9 

7.6 

1.1 

3.1 

2.0 

5.9 

1.7 

2.0 

0.2 

5.7 

2.8 

1.8 

1.6 

3.6 

2.6 

2.4 

1.4 

1.7 

2.0 

2.1 

1.1 

1.4 

1.9 

3.6 

1.8 

2.5 

0.3 

1.8 

3.7 

2.5 

7.7 

1.5 

3.1 

2.3 

5.1 

1.4 

2.2 

0.3 

5.2 

2.5 

1.8 

2.0 

3.2 

2.9 

2.2 

1.4 

2.0 

2.3 

2.1 

1.0 

2.3 

1.9 

3.6 

1.8 

2.4 

0.9 

2.6 

4.3 

2.6 

7.9 

1.6 

3.2 

2.3 

4.6 

1.7 

2.3 

0.2 

4.8 

2.3 

1.8 

1.9 

1.7 

2.5 

3.4 

1.4 

1.8 

2.2 

1.6 

1.0 

2.4 

1.9 

4.0 

1.9 

2.5 

1.7 

2.5 

4.0 

2.6 

7.7 

1.7 

3.3 

2.3 

3.8 

1.5 

2.3 

0.2 

-4.3 

-4.0 

-2.8 

-2.4 

-1.6 

-0.7 

-0.4 

-0.6 

-0.4 

2.1 

  2.3p 

1.5 

10.7 

11.6 

11.1 

10.0 

3.7 

2.0 

5.1 

0.2 

4.9 

3.0 

3.5 

2.2 

5.5 

0.9 

4.2 

3.4 

  2.0r 

  1.8p 

1.9 

3.0 

3.4 

3.3 

2.0 

2.5 

3.6 

2.3 

3.2 

3.1 

2.1 

3.1 

3.9 

2.7 

  2.0p 

  3.1p 

3.5 

2.0 

3.5 

3.5 

2.3 

  2.4p

4.3 

1.9 

2.6 

3.5 

2.8 

4.0 

3.5 

7.0 

1.4 

4.0 

4.6 

1.9 

2.6 

3.8 

3.0 

4.2 

3.3 

7.6 

1.2 

: 

5.2 

2.9 

2.0 

2.1 

1.9 

3.1 

4.0 

1.8 

2.2 

2.4 

2.2 

1.3 

2.8 

2.2 

4.4 

2.3 

2.8 

2.4 

3.6 

4.6 

2.9 

7.9 

2.1 

3.7 

2.7 

  2.8r

  2.8p

3.5 

2.7 

2.7 

0.4 

2.2 

2.0 

2.3 

1.1 

2.7 

  2.8p

0.2 

0.5 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

2.1 

  2.3p 

1.5 

Switzerland 

0.6 

0.5 

0.9 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: prc_hicp_mv12r, prc_hicp_manr) 

  Data in focus — 4/2011 

3 

Euro area 

1.6 

  1.9p 

0.8 

 
 
 
 
Table 3: Annual inflation rates (in %) for HICP main categories 

Feb 2011 

Main categories 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

00 

3.5 

2.2 

5.5 

0.9 

4.2 

3.4 

01 

2.5 

3.4 

12.8 

1.3 

2.3 

1.1 

02 

0.8 

-0.4 

5.5 

0.4 

19.4 

14.5 

03 

0.4 

-0.5 

3.6 

-4.5 

04 

9.4 

4.0 

5.1 

3.9 

-10.6 

-0.1 

10.8 

7.9 

05 

1.0 

0.5 

-0.7 

-2.7 

2.1 

0.9 

06 

0.3 

0.9 

0.1 

4.1 

1.2 

-1.5 

07 

7.9 

3.9 

4.9 

3.8 

11.0 

9.8 

08 

1.5 

-2.5 

2.6 

3.1 

3.3 

-0.7 

09 

0.3 

0.4 

2.0 

-1.3 

0.8 

-0.2 

10 

-0.5 

1.2 

2.4 

-3.0 

-0.1 

2.3 

11 

1.9 

1.1 

2.4 

-0.7 

2.9 

1.7 

12 

3.2 

2.2 

3.2 

2.2 

3.4 

2.9 

   1.8p 

   0.3p 

   3.0p 

  -4.9p 

   4.8p 

   0.0p 

   0.8p 

   5.1p 

  -0.6p 

  -1.2p 

   2.6p 

   1.5p 

   2.6p 

2.1 

3.1 

3.9 

2.7 

2.1 

1.7 

2.6 

5.2 

2.1 

7.4 

2.8 

3.2 

-4.3 

0.8 

1.7 

-4.1 

4.3 

6.8 

8.2 

3.8 

1.6 

0.4 

1.2 

-1.8 

2.3 

2.9 

11.8 

1.5 

5.2 

9.3 

6.8 

6.5 

-0.6 

2.5 

0.6 

-8.0 

0.4 

0.1 

0.6 

-0.3 

1.8 

3.3 

8.0 

3.5 

1.8 

1.1 

2.6 

5.5 

3.2 

2.7 

2.4 

4.2 

Netherlands 

   2.0p 

   1.4p 

   2.8p 

   1.1p 

   2.2p 

   0.8p 

   5.2p 

   4.2p 

   3.0p 

  -0.4p 

   2.2p 

   2.4p 

   2.1p 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

   3.1p 

   4.4p 

   5.4p 

   2.6p 

   3.3p 

   1.1p 

   2.1p 

   6.4p 

   1.0p 

   1.4p 

   3.0p 

   2.5p 

   2.9p 

3.5 

2.0 

3.5 

3.5 

2.4 

4.1 

6.5 

5.8 

8.3 

8.9 

2.1 

0.6 

-8.4 

-0.6 

-0.4 

3.1 

6.1 

8.7 

6.0 

8.0 

0.8 

1.7 

-2.0 

1.8 

3.3 

2.5 

3.4 

0.9 

9.3 

2.8 

5.6 

4.9 

3.1 

3.3 

0.8 

-0.9 

2.2 

-5.3 

0.7 

0.8 

2.1 

1.3 

4.4 

3.5 

1.6 

-5.4 

1.9 

0.2 

1.4 

1.8 

3.0 

3.3 

Euro area 

   2.4p 

   2.0p 

   3.5p 

  -2.6p 

   4.9p 

   0.8p 

   1.2p 

   5.7p 

  -0.4p 

   0.0p 

   1.5p 

   1.7p 

   2.6p 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

4.6 

1.9 

2.6 

3.8 

3.0 

4.2 

3.3 

7.6 

1.2 

: 

4.9 

4.3 

3.1 

9.8 

7.8 

8.3 

5.3 

9.0 

1.6 

: 

23.4 

4.0 

4.9 

1.4 

0.8 

1.0 

5.6 

11.5 

1.5 

: 

1.4 

-3.8 

-0.5 

-3.2 

-5.1 

1.6 

-4.0 

2.1 

0.5 

: 

2.7 

4.3 

4.4 

9.0 

6.9 

6.7 

4.6 

7.1 

1.2 

: 

-0.5 

-1.4 

0.4 

-2.5 

-2.0 

-0.5 

1.3 

2.1 

-1.2 

: 

4.2 

3.6 

3.6 

-2.6 

-0.2 

2.2 

3.6 

5.7 

1.2 

: 

8.2 

2.7 

3.0 

6.0 

7.2 

6.9 

5.1 

13.6 

2.7 

: 

-1.4 

-1.3 

0.1 

-2.4 

-4.1 

-0.5 

-1.2 

7.2 

-0.5 

: 

-3.3 

-1.6 

1.2 

-2.6 

-1.4 

1.3 

0.2 

4.5 

-0.9 

: 

1.6 

2.2 

5.1 

1.5 

-0.6 

-0.2 

2.2 

3.9 

2.2 

: 

0.3 

0.5 

2.1 

-0.4 

-0.4 

1.3 

3.4 

3.2 

2.6 

: 

9.6 

1.2 

2.6 

-0.8 

0.8 

0.8 

1.8 

2.9 

2.6 

: 

   2.8p 

   3.2p 

   4.5p 

  -2.2p 

   4.7p 

   1.1p 

   1.7p 

   6.1p 

   0.3p 

   0.1p 

   2.5p 

   2.2p 

   2.5p 

2.3 

1.1 

1.8 

0.3 

2.5 

5.9 

1.3 

-5.6 

7.2 

2.8 

-1.4 

-0.5 

1.3 

2.6 

3.9 

1.8 

7.1 

-3.2 

-2.5 

-0.6 

5.6 

2.4 

4.1 

2.7 

1.7 

2.7 

   2.8p 

   3.2p 

   4.6p 

  -2.3p 

   4.6p 

   1.1p 

   1.7p 

   6.0p 

   0.3p 

   0.1p 

   2.5p 

   2.2p 

   2.5p 

Switzerland 

0.5 

-3.0 

1.1 

5.8 

3.3 

-0.1 

-0.8 

2.1 

0.1 

-3.2 

1.4 

0.9 

0.9 

COICOP/HICP code of main categories 

00  HICP (all-items index) 
01  Food and non-alcoholic beverages 
02  Alcoholic beverages and tobacco 
03  Clothing and footwear 
04  Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels 
05  Furnishings, household equipment and routine 

maintenance of  the house 

Source: Eurostat (online data code :  prc_hicp_manr) 

06  Health 
07  Transports 
08  Communications 
09  Recreation and culture 
10  Education 
11  Restaurants and hotels 
12  Miscellaneous goods and services 

4 

4/2011 — Data in focus  

 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 4: Index levels (2005=100) - some special aggregates 

     HICP all-items excluding … 

… energy 

… energy, food, 
alcohol and 
tobacco 

… energy, 
unprocessed 
food 

... energy, 
seasonal food

... tobacco 

Energy 

Food, alcohol 
and tobacco 

Jan 

Feb 

Jan 

Feb 

Jan 

Feb 

Jan 

Feb 

Jan 

Feb 

Jan 

Feb 

Jan 

Feb 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

109.39  111.87  106.97  110.08  108.85  111.54  109.04  111.61  111.66  114.22 

131.93  134.45 

117.68  118.10 

107.1 

107.8 

105.9 

106.5 

106.8 

107.4 

106.9 

107.5 

109.2 

109.9 

128.3 

129.1 

112.7 

113.3 

125.82  126.68  118.74  119.01  125.15  125.40  124.90  125.15  128.82  129.69 

161.62  162.57 

140.81  142.90 

102.6 

103.4 

101.3 

102.1 

102.9 

103.7 

102.7 

103.5 

104.0 

104.9 

133.6 

134.9 

107.2 

108.0 

115.76  113.93  113.98  111.33  115.96  113.70  115.95  113.79  118.02  116.37 

161.17  162.84 

121.53  122.35 

110.57  110.53  108.11  107.99  110.16  110.10  110.36  110.28  112.61  112.73 

139.99  141.64 

117.81  118.04 

107.78r  108.24p  107.11r  107.62p  107.50r  107.95p 107.70r  108.13p 109.21r  109.75p  126.89  128.19p  110.20  110.49p

109.5 

109.6 

107.9 

107.9 

109.1 

109.2 

109.3 

109.4 

110.1 

110.2 

120.9 

121.9 

115.3 

115.5 

109.45  109.89  105.83  105.79  107.60  107.65  108.57  108.68  112.58  113.02 

140.22  140.57 

122.16  124.56 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

112.71  114.52  109.96  112.20  112.65  114.55  112.69  114.54  112.77  114.62 

126.23  127.42 

120.36  120.74 

Malta 

108.71  108.39  104.00  103.81  106.64  106.50  107.17  107.08  111.17  110.86 

158.92  158.92 

125.72  124.86 

Netherlands 

106.57r  107.62p  105.29  106.24p  106.20  107.18p 106.16  107.16p 107.19r  108.20p  117.33  117.79p  112.14r  113.64p

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

109.60r  110.46p  108.32r  109.17p  109.13r  109.99p 109.20r  110.04p 110.73r  111.61p  125.60  126.74p  116.09r  117.02p

108.12  107.90  107.39  107.00  108.60  108.33  108.29  108.04  109.90  109.76 

130.39  131.57 

110.49  110.84 

112.15  112.06  107.19  106.80  111.00  110.86  111.18  111.14  115.00  115.05 

142.12  143.10 

127.59  128.47 

112.45  112.78  109.87  109.91  112.18  112.26  111.26  111.36  114.51  114.82 

128.51  128.82 

119.47  120.60 

110.50  111.39  108.57  109.21  110.07  110.88  110.16  111.01  112.20  113.07 

138.79  139.04 

117.02  118.76 

Euro area 

108.59r  108.98p  107.11r  107.47p  108.22  108.58p 108.36  108.71p 110.11  110.57p  129.24  130.34p  114.10r  114.57p

Bulgaria 

140.42r  141.09  131.47r  131.36  142.31r  142.69  141.31r  141.64  135.38r  136.18 

136.50r  137.96 

161.20r  163.58 

Czech Republic 

111.6 

111.7 

106.6 

106.5 

111.6 

111.7 

111.1 

111.2 

113.0 

113.1 

139.6 

139.6 

122.7 

123.2 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

110.0 

111.1 

107.8 

109.0 

109.9 

111.1 

109.7 

110.8 

111.3 

112.4 

126.1 

126.8 

117.8 

118.6 

135.07  135.56  119.61  119.29  133.42  133.58  133.69  133.75  136.94  137.33 

186.47  186.23 

166.58  168.93 

125.10  125.17  112.17  111.59  122.82  122.56  124.30  124.01  128.95  129.04 

173.40  173.78 

147.93  149.22 

127.68  128.02  119.47  119.31  125.05  125.19  125.52  125.65  132.16  132.71 

164.29  166.04 

146.26  147.72 

114.5 

114.8 

108.5 

108.7 

113.4 

113.7 

113.5 

113.7 

116.4 

116.6 

142.1 

141.7 

126.9 

127.6 

137.97  139.26  129.45  129.51  140.67  141.46  137.62  138.30  134.40  135.38 

154.22  154.28 

146.02  148.51 

108.99  109.62  106.69  107.25  108.51  109.07  108.66  109.22  110.53  111.08 

129.33  129.16 

117.47  118.34 

United Kingdom 

113.4 

: 

110.3 

: 

112.5 

: 

112.8 

: 

115.9 

: 

159.7 

: 

130.5 

: 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

110.56  110.95p  108.16  108.48p  110.03r  110.36p 110.18  110.51p 112.23  112.67p  135.09  136.03p  119.36r  119.96p

149.50  151.60  147.66  150.01  149.51  151.69  148.64  150.83  152.34  154.50 

185.53  187.95 

156.47  157.61 

108.8 

109.7 

107.7 

108.3 

109.4 

110.1 

109.0 

109.8 

112.1 

112.7 

152.4 

147.5 

113.1 

115.5 

110.57  110.96p  108.18  108.51p  110.05  110.39p 110.20  110.54p 112.26  112.70p  135.31  136.21p  119.32  119.95p

Switzerland 

102.9 

103.2 

103.2 

103.5 

103.2 

103.4 

103.1 

103.3 

103.9 

104.2 

117.7 

119.8 

101.2 

101.3 

Source: Eurostat (online data code : prc_hicp_midx) 

  Data in focus — 4/2011 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Comments 

1.  Euro area inflation is measured by the MUICP (’Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices’ as defined in Council 
Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 of 23 October 1995) which is the official euro area aggregate. The euro area initially 
included  Belgium,  Germany,  Ireland,  Spain,  France,  Italy,  Luxembourg,  the  Netherlands,  Austria,  Portugal  and 
Finland. Greece was included from January 2001, Slovenia from January 2007, Cyprus and Malta from January 
2008, Slovakia from January 2009 and Estonia from January 2011. New Member States are integrated into the 
MUICP using a chain index formula.  

2.  EU  inflation  is  measured  by  the  EICP  (’European  Index  of  Consumer  Prices’  as  defined  in  Council  Regulation 
(EC)  No  2494/95  of  23  October  1995)  which  is  the  official  EU  aggregate.  The  EU  included  15  Member  States 
until  April  2004,  25  Member  States  from  May  2004  until  December  2006  and  27  Member  States  from  January 
2007. New Member States are integrated into the EICP using a chain index formula. 

3.  France  has  revised  its  data  for  January  2011  as  a  result  of  the  implementation  of  the  seasonal  product 

regulation.  

4.  Data for the United Kingdom for February 2011 were not available in time for publication. Due to this fact, EU and 

EEA totals were calculated using Eurostat estimates.  

5.  EEA inflation is measured by the EEAICP (’European Economic Area Index of Consumer Prices'). It is computed 

using data for Iceland and Norway in addition to the EU Member States. 

Flags 
p 

provisional 

r  

revised 

: 

not available 

Methodology 

Measures of inflation 

An annual rate measures the price change between the current month and the same month of the previous year. This 
measure is responsive to recent changes in price levels but can be influenced by one-off effects in either month. 

A  12-month  average  rate  overcomes  this  volatility  by  comparing  average  Harmonised  Indices  of  Consumer  Prices 
(HICPs) in the latest 12 months to the average of the previous 12 months. This measure is less sensitive to transient 
changes in prices.  

HICPs designed for international comparison 

Harmonised  Indices  of  Consumer  Prices  (HICPs)  are  harmonised  inflation  figures  required  under  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning of the European Union. They are designed for international comparison of consumer price inflation.  

The  MUICP  is  used  by,  among  others,  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  as  a  main  indicator  for  monetary  policy 
management for the euro area (see ECB press release, 8 May 2003). 

The  Member  States’  HICPs  are  supplied  by  the  National  Statistical  Institutes;  the  MUICP,  EICP  and  EEAICP  are 
compiled by Eurostat. HICPs are computed as annual chain indices allowing weights to be changed each year. HICP 
aggregates  are  calculated  as  weighted  averages  of  the  HICPs  using  the  weights  of  the  countries  and  sub-indices 
concerned. The weight of a country is its share of the household final monetary consumption expenditure in the total 
of  the  country  group.  For  the  MUICP  this  is  expressed  in  euro,  for  the  EICP  and  the  EEAICP  it  is  expressed  in 
Purchasing  Power  Standards.  The  MUICP  is  treated  as  a  single  entity  within  the  EICP  and  EEAICP  starting  from 
1999. 

Additional information 

About 100 MUICP, EICP, EEAICP and HICP sub-indices and over 30 special aggregates with corresponding weights 
and inflation rates are available in Eurostat’s database: 

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/hicp/data/database 

More information on methods and data can be found on the HICP section of the Eurostat website: 

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/hicp/introduction 

Starting with the index of January 2011 a new regulation that defines how seasonal products are to be treated in the 
HICP has come into force, and may have an effect on the continuity of the affected HICP series. At the level of the all-
items  index  for  the  euro  area,  the  EU  and  most  Member  States,  the  impact  of  the  implementation  of  this  new 
regulation is not significant. For further information on the change in the method and its impact please see: 

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/hicp/documents/Tab/Tab/9E876117DF4A14BAE0440003
BA9321FE 

6 

4/2011 — Data in focus  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Further information 

European Statistical Data Support: 

Contact details for this support network can be found on our Internet site: 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/  

Manuscript completed on: 18.03.2011 
Data extracted on: 16.03.2011 
ISSN 1977-0340 
Catalogue number: KS-QA-11-004-EN-N 
© European Union, 2011