Harmonized indices of consumer prices, March 2011.
Date: 2011-04-19
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, consumer price, economic statistics, harmonisation of prices, inflation, price index

Economy and finance 

Author: Jarko PASANEN 

D a t a   i n   f o c u s  
6/2011 

HARMONISED INDICES OF CONSUMER PRICES 
MARCH 2011 

EURO AREA1)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.7% IN MARCH 2011, 

UP FROM 2.4% IN FEBRUARY 

EU2)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 3.1% IN MARCH 2011, 

UP FROM 2.9% IN FEBRUARY 

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

Euro area
US CPI

EU
JP CPI

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

-2.0

03/10

04/10

05/10

06/10

07/10

08/10

09/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

01/11

02/11

03/11

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

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

1.9 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.8 2.8 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.3 3.5 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.3 4.6 4.6

8.0

5.1

9.0

6.0

3.0

0.0

1.2 1.4

Ireland
Sweden
Czech Republic
Netherlands
France
Germany

Slovenia

Denmark

Euro area

Italy

Malta EU

Cyprus

Spain

Austria

Belgium

Lithuania
Finland

Slovakia

Luxembourg
Portugal
United Kingdom
Poland

Latvia

Greece

Bulgaria

Hungary

Romania
Estonia

 * Data for the Netherlands and Austria are provisional. 
 Source: Eurostat (online data code:  prc_hicp_manr) 

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

Annual   
average 
index 

Apr 

May 

Jun 

Jul 

Aug 

Sep 

Oct 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan 

Feb 

Mar 

Monthly Indices 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2011 

2011 

2011 

111.40 

111.48  111.88  111.89  109.85  112.10  112.24  112.39  112.52  113.16  111.84  114.33  114.82 

108.4 

108.2 

108.3 

108.3 

108.6 

108.7 

108.5 

108.6 

108.7 

110.0 

109.4 

110.1 

110.8 

126.95 

126.09  126.45  126.95  127.26  127.22  128.21  128.92  129.32  129.94  129.91  130.78  131.84 

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 

105.6 

105.5 

105.4 

105.6 

105.4 

105.5 

105.3 

105.5 

105.2 

106.1 

106.6 

117.82  118.73  118.53  118.02  117.15  119.38  119.54  119.78  120.37  119.19  117.60  121.37 

113.36  113.40  113.53  112.26  112.51  113.54  114.05  114.41  115.04  113.54  113.65  116.33 

108.89  109.04  109.04  108.68  108.95  108.91  109.07  109.22  109.75  109.44  109.97  110.93 

110.9 

111.0 

111.1 

110.1 

110.3 

111.0 

111.8 

111.8 

112.2 

110.4 

110.6 

113.0 

111.94  112.00  112.39  111.44  112.42  113.55  114.19  113.35  113.12  112.72  113.16  114.33 

112.94  113.26  113.18  112.76  113.85  113.84  113.97  114.13  114.67  114.27  116.02  117.00 

112.40  113.72  113.63  114.29  115.41  114.57  113.89  112.21  112.76  111.31  111.01  112.69 

108.45  108.35  107.64  107.01  107.16  107.96  108.22  108.06  107.77  107.68  108.67  110.21p

109.69  109.63  109.63  109.07  109.36  109.78  110.18  110.18  110.93  110.86  111.75  113.11p

108.66  108.86  109.09  109.51  109.37  109.27  109.65  109.73  110.15  110.68  110.62  112.41 

116.05  116.52  116.76  116.08  116.23  115.71  115.88  116.22  116.39  115.88  115.92  117.51 

112.19  112.26  112.25  112.40  112.28  112.27  112.30  112.62  112.90  115.23  115.56  116.02 

110.50  110.28  110.54  109.85  110.28  110.77  111.23  111.48  112.07  112.51  113.36  114.02 

109.84 

109.98  110.10  110.10  109.63  109.85  110.19  110.52  110.62  111.29  110.50  110.96  112.47p

136.58 

136.60  136.62  136.03  136.74  136.96  137.25  137.50  138.24  139.30  139.94  140.71  141.27 

113.7 

110.8 

137.91 

128.60 

129.70 

115.6 

135.17 

110.80 

114.5 

113.8 

114.0 

114.0 

114.3 

114.0 

113.8 

113.5 

113.7 

114.3 

115.2 

115.2 

115.4 

110.9 

110.8 

110.7 

110.6 

111.1 

111.5 

111.4 

111.5 

111.6 

111.7 

112.8 

113.5 

137.92  137.88  138.41  138.70  137.72  138.31  138.75  138.99  139.20  140.96  141.35  142.31 

128.23  128.49  128.53  128.58  128.29  129.06  129.57  129.52  130.51  131.05  131.15  132.44 

129.47  130.38  130.61  130.66  130.04  129.86  130.37  130.64  131.18  132.35  132.87  134.25 

115.3 

115.6 

115.9 

115.7 

115.3 

115.9 

116.3 

116.5 

116.9 

118.1 

118.3 

119.4 

132.61  132.80  133.00  136.45  136.76  137.53  138.29  139.02  139.76  140.85  141.94  142.80 

110.64  110.74  110.67  110.18  110.12  111.02  111.38  111.59  112.27  111.27  111.81  112.25 

114.2 

114.4 

114.6 

114.3 

114.9 

114.9 

115.2 

115.6 

116.8 

116.9 

117.8 

118.1 

111.77 

111.74  111.91  111.95  111.63  111.85  112.16  112.49  112.66  113.39  112.93  113.44r 114.69p

152.79 

153.10  153.69  153.37  152.43  153.02  152.76  153.84  153.78  154.44  152.55  154.68  156.11 

111.8 

112.6 

112.0 

111.9 

111.2 

110.7 

111.5 

111.6 

111.8 

113.3 

112.4 

113.0 

113.4 

111.80 

111.78  111.94  111.98  111.66  111.87  112.18  112.51  112.68  113.42  112.95  113.47r 114.71p

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Euro area 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

Switzerland 

104.1 

104.9 

104.6 

104.3 

103.8 

103.8 

103.6 

104.2 

104.1 

104.0 

104.0 

104.3 

105.0 

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

2 

6/2011 — Data in focus  

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

12-month  
average rates 

Annual rates 

Dec  Mar  Mar 

Apr  May 

Jun 

Jul 

Aug 

Sep 

Oct 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan 

Feb  Mar 

2010  2011 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2.3 

1.2 

2.7 

2.9 

1.5 

4.1 

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 

-0.8 

-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 

1.9 

1.9 

2.7 

3.0 

2.5 

  1.3p 

  2.1p 

2.2 

2.2 

1.6 

2.2 

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 

3.0 

1.2 

2.2 

-1.2 

1.2 

4.7 

2.7 

6.1 

1.9 

3.3 

3.7 

1.6 

2.4 

0.7 

2.1 

4.3 

2.7 

6.8 

1.6 

3.5 

2.4 

0.4 

2.1 

-0.4 

5.7 

2.9 

4.2 

2.5 

3.4 

2.1 

  2.4p 

2.0 

7.5 

2.3 

5.3 

1.9 

3.6 

2.1 

  2.4p 

2.0 

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 

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 

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 

3.5 

2.7 

2.7 

0.4 

-4.0 

-2.8 

-2.4 

-1.6 

-0.7 

-0.4 

11.6 

11.1 

10.0 

3.7 

2.0 

5.1 

0.2 

4.9 

3.0 

2.0 

1.9 

3.0 

3.4 

3.3 

2.0 

2.5 

3.6 

2.3 

3.2 

3.1 

2.3 

4.3 

1.9 

2.6 

3.5 

2.8 

4.0 

3.5 

7.0 

1.4 

4.0 

3.5 

2.2 

5.5 

0.9 

4.2 

3.4 

1.8 

2.1 

3.1 

3.9 

2.7 

2.0 

3.1 

3.5 

2.0 

3.5 

3.5 

3.5 

2.3 

5.1 

1.2 

4.3 

3.3 

2.2 

2.8 

3.2 

4.0 

2.8 

  2.0p 

  3.3p 

3.9 

2.4 

3.8 

3.5 

2.4 

  2.7p

4.6 

1.9 

2.6 

3.8 

3.0 

4.2 

3.3 

7.6 

1.2 

4.4 

4.6 

1.9 

2.5 

4.1 

3.7 

4.6 

4.0 

8.0 

1.4 

4.0 

2.8 

  2.9r

  3.1p

2.2 

2.0 

2.3 

1.1 

2.3 

0.9 

2.7 

  2.9r

  3.1p

0.2 

0.5 

1.0 

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 

Switzerland 

0.6 

  0.5p 

1.4 

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

  Data in focus — 6/2011 

3 

Euro area 

1.6 

  2.0p 

1.6 

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

Mar 2011 

Main categories 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

00 

3.5 

2.3 

5.1 

1.2 

4.3 

3.3 

2.2 

2.8 

3.2 

4.0 

2.8 

01 

1.3 

2.9 

11.3 

1.6 

2.4 

0.9 

0.9 

2.4 

2.9 

2.9 

4.5 

02 

0.8 

0.0 

8.0 

-0.1 

20.2 

14.7 

3.1 

2.2 

8.1 

2.6 

3.3 

03 

0.6 

2.1 

3.1 

-2.6 

1.2 

0.7 

-1.4 

3.0 

-1.0 

0.3 

-0.4 

04 

9.3 

4.2 

3.9 

4.3 

10.8 

8.0 

5.0 

4.5 

7.9 

8.4 

3.7 

05 

0.9 

0.5 

-0.7 

-2.2 

1.7 

1.0 

0.6 

1.5 

1.0 

1.5 

-1.8 

06 

0.1 

0.9 

0.0 

4.1 

1.0 

-1.2 

1.0 

2.4 

3.1 

11.9 

1.6 

07 

7.7 

3.9 

5.9 

3.6 

8.1 

9.7 

4.8 

5.5 

8.8 

7.4 

8.2 

08 

1.5 

-2.7 

-1.8 

4.2 

1.6 

-0.7 

-1.4 

-0.5 

2.5 

0.6 

-8.0 

09 

1.0 

-0.2 

2.1 

-1.3 

0.6 

-1.0 

-1.0 

-0.3 

0.1 

0.6 

0.7 

10 

-0.5 

1.7 

2.1 

-1.3 

-0.1 

2.2 

2.5 

1.7 

3.3 

8.0 

3.5 

11 

2.7 

0.5 

1.7 

-1.3 

1.9 

1.8 

2.2 

2.3 

0.8 

2.6 

3.6 

12 

3.1 

2.5 

3.2 

5.5 

2.9 

2.8 

2.9 

3.1 

2.0 

2.5 

4.5 

Netherlands 

   2.0p 

   1.8p 

   1.6p 

   0.3p 

   2.3p 

   1.1p 

   5.2p 

   4.1p 

   1.8p 

  -0.8p 

   2.2p 

   2.7p 

   2.5p 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

   3.3p 

   4.8p 

   4.6p 

   4.1p 

   3.4p 

   0.8p 

   2.3p 

   6.0p 

   0.6p 

   1.3p 

   3.3p 

   2.6p 

   3.3p 

3.9 

2.4 

3.8 

3.5 

2.7 

4.0 

6.9 

5.9 

8.8 

8.9 

3.3 

0.6 

-1.5 

-2.1 

-0.3 

1.4 

5.7 

8.6 

6.2 

7.7 

0.9 

2.7 

-1.6 

2.0 

3.3 

2.2 

3.2 

0.6 

9.5 

2.3 

6.1 

5.2 

4.7 

3.3 

0.3 

1.2 

2.2 

0.0 

0.8 

0.3 

2.1 

1.1 

4.4 

3.5 

1.5 

-5.1 

1.9 

0.6 

2.0 

2.2 

3.4 

3.3 

Euro area 

   2.7p 

   2.0p 

   3.6p 

   1.2p 

   5.1p 

   0.9p 

   1.3p 

   5.6p 

  -0.6p 

  -0.3p 

   1.7p 

   1.8p 

   2.8p 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

4.6 

1.9 

2.5 

4.1 

3.7 

4.6 

4.0 

8.0 

1.4 

4.0 

6.4 

3.6 

2.9 

9.3 

8.9 

9.8 

7.3 

21.4 

3.8 

5.0 

0.9 

0.2 

0.5 

4.0 

10.1 

11.7 

1.4 

4.5 

1.3 

5.7 

-0.5 

-3.0 

-1.2 

-1.2 

-1.5 

0.6 

-1.8 

2.2 

0.6 

2.2 

2.4 

4.2 

4.6 

8.7 

6.5 

6.7 

4.7 

7.5 

3.1 

3.4 

-0.1 

-1.2 

1.0 

-2.2 

-1.3 

-0.4 

1.6 

2.2 

-1.8 

4.2 

4.1 

3.8 

3.3 

-1.6 

0.4 

2.0 

3.7 

5.6 

1.3 

3.4 

8.0 

2.7 

2.6 

7.1 

8.4 

7.7 

5.9 

13.5 

2.6 

8.0 

-1.4 

-1.3 

1.6 

-2.9 

-4.0 

0.4 

-0.9 

6.1 

-1.0 

4.3 

-3.3 

-1.7 

1.2 

-2.2 

-1.3 

1.4 

0.3 

4.5 

-1.2 

0.6 

1.7 

2.2 

5.1 

1.5 

-0.6 

-0.4 

2.2 

4.0 

2.3 

5.3 

0.2 

0.4 

2.3 

0.0 

0.2 

1.6 

3.7 

3.1 

2.5 

4.3 

7.6 

1.0 

2.5 

0.6 

1.4 

0.8 

2.2 

2.8 

2.4 

2.7 

   3.1p 

   3.3p 

   4.3p 

   1.1p 

   4.9p 

   1.3p 

   1.8p 

   6.0p 

   0.2p 

  -0.1p 

   2.6p 

   2.3p 

   2.7p 

2.3 

0.9 

1.9 

-0.4 

2.8 

6.0 

-2.0 

-1.2 

7.5 

-0.3 

-0.8 

-1.7 

0.2 

2.1 

4.0 

1.6 

8.2 

-3.0 

-2.2 

0.4 

5.6 

2.4 

3.9 

2.8 

1.6 

2.6 

   3.1p 

   3.3p 

   4.4p 

   1.1p 

   4.8p 

   1.3p 

   1.8p 

   6.0p 

   0.2p 

  -0.1p 

   2.6p 

   2.3p 

   2.7p 

Switzerland 

1.0 

-3.0 

5.4 

14.7 

3.3 

-1.1 

-0.7 

1.8 

0.0 

-2.8 

1.4 

1.0 

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 

6/2011 — 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 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

111.87  111.86  110.08  110.18  111.54  111.68  111.61  111.73  114.22  114.73 

134.45  139.70 

118.10  117.73 

107.8 

108.1 

106.5 

106.9 

107.4 

107.7 

107.5 

107.8 

109.9 

110.6 

129.1 

132.8 

113.3 

113.6 

126.68  127.64  119.01  119.53  125.40  126.37  125.15  126.11  129.69  130.54 

162.57  164.46 

142.90  144.75 

103.4 

103.6 

102.1 

102.4 

103.7 

104.0 

103.5 

103.7 

104.9 

105.4 

134.9 

138.6 

108.0 

107.8 

113.93  117.52  111.33  115.89  113.70  117.56  113.79  117.48  116.37  120.22 

162.84  168.94 

122.35  122.80 

110.53  113.13  107.99  111.19  110.10  112.92  110.28  112.97  112.73  115.45 

141.64  145.00 

118.04  118.59 

108.25r  109.02  107.63r  108.39  107.95  108.68  108.14r  108.86  109.76r  110.74 

128.19  131.15 

110.50r  111.34 

109.6 

112.0 

107.9 

110.9 

109.2 

111.8 

109.4 

111.9 

110.2 

112.7 

121.9 

124.4 

115.5 

115.9 

109.89  110.85  105.79  106.84  107.65  108.67  108.68  109.66  113.02  114.22 

140.57  144.35 

124.56  125.13 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

114.52  114.86  112.20  112.54  114.55  114.88  114.54  114.86  114.62  115.67 

127.42  133.84 

120.74  121.04 

Malta 

108.39  109.99  103.81  105.82  106.50  108.29  107.08  108.84  110.86  112.57 

158.92  162.25 

124.86  124.75 

Netherlands 

107.62  109.19p  106.24  108.09p  107.18  108.84p 107.16  108.77p 108.20  109.78p  117.79  119.09p  113.64  114.05p

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

110.46  111.61p  109.17  110.34p  109.99  111.15p 110.04  111.16p 111.61  113.01p  126.74  130.60p  117.02  118.05p

107.90  109.54  107.00  109.00  108.33  110.07  108.04  109.71  109.76  111.55 

131.57  134.54 

110.84  111.29 

112.06  113.73  106.80  109.01  110.86  112.75  111.14  112.96  115.05  116.68 

143.10  144.08 

128.47  128.39 

112.78  113.22  109.91  110.11  112.26  112.65  111.36  111.80  114.82  115.23 

128.82  129.39 

120.60  121.69 

111.39  111.82  109.21  109.69  110.88  111.35  111.01  111.47  113.07  113.74 

139.04  143.00 

118.76  119.02 

Euro area 

108.98  110.31p  107.47  109.02p  108.58  109.98p 108.71  110.07p 110.58r  112.11p  130.34  133.62p  114.57  115.07p

Bulgaria 

141.09  141.51  131.36  131.29  142.69  143.05  141.64  142.00  136.18  136.78 

137.96  139.59 

163.58  165.08 

Czech Republic 

111.7 

111.7 

106.5 

106.5 

111.7 

111.7 

111.2 

111.2 

113.1 

113.2 

139.6 

140.6 

123.2 

123.3 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

111.1 

111.7 

109.0 

109.6 

111.1 

111.7 

110.8 

111.4 

112.4 

113.2 

126.8 

128.9 

118.6 

119.3 

135.56  136.26  119.29  120.16  133.58  134.33  133.75  134.44  137.33  138.29 

186.23  189.03 

168.93  169.24 

125.17  126.30  111.59  112.56  122.56  123.70  124.01  125.10  129.04  130.35 

173.78  176.21 

149.22  150.63 

128.02  129.30  119.31  120.03  125.19  126.41  125.65  126.82  132.71  134.15 

166.04  168.10 

147.72  150.25 

114.8 

115.8 

108.7 

109.2 

113.7 

114.6 

113.7 

114.7 

116.6 

117.6 

141.7 

143.1 

127.6 

129.7 

139.26  139.96  129.51  129.40  141.46  141.72  138.30  138.56  135.38  136.25 

154.28  155.97 

148.51  149.99 

109.62  109.90  107.25  107.59  109.07  109.43  109.22  109.55  111.08  111.52 

129.16  130.87 

118.34  118.42 

United Kingdom 

114.2 

114.3 

111.1 

111.5 

113.2 

113.5 

113.6 

113.8 

116.8 

117.1 

161.3 

164.2 

131.1 

130.1 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

111.03r  112.10p  108.58r  109.81p  110.45r  111.58p 110.60r  111.70p 112.75r  114.02p  136.08r  139.04p  119.98r  120.47p

151.60  152.37  150.01  151.05  151.69  152.65  150.83  151.66  154.50  155.94 

187.95  196.77 

157.61  157.37 

109.7 

110.1 

108.3 

108.9 

110.1 

110.7 

109.8 

110.2 

112.7 

113.1 

147.5 

147.3 

115.5 

115.0 

111.04r  112.11p  108.61r  109.83p  110.48r  111.60p 110.62r  111.72p 112.78r  114.04p  136.26r  139.20p  119.97r  120.44p

Switzerland 

103.2 

103.7 

103.5 

104.0 

103.4 

103.9 

103.3 

103.8 

104.2 

104.9 

119.8 

123.2 

101.3 

101.8 

Source: Eurostat (online data code :  prc_hicp_midx) 

  Data in focus — 6/2011 

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.  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_pub/HICP_SP_info_note_annex_2011.pdf 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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: 19.04.2011 
Data extracted on: 15.04.2011 
ISSN 1977-0340 
Catalogue number: KS-QA-11-006-EN-N 
© European Union, 2011