Harmonized indices of consumer prices, May 2011.
Date: 2011-06-28
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  
8/2011 

HARMONISED INDICES OF CONSUMER PRICES 
MAY 2011 

EURO AREA1)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.7% IN MAY 2011, 
DOWN FROM 2.8% IN APRIL 

EU2)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 3.2% IN MAY 2011, 

DOWN FROM 3.3% IN APRIL 

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

Euro area
US CPI

EU
JP CPI

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

-2.0

05/10

06/10

07/10

08/10

09/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

01/11

02/11

03/11

04/11

05/11

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

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

1.7 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.7 3.0 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.7 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.5 4.8 5.0

8.5

5.5

10.0

8.0

6.0

4.0

2.0

1.2

0.0

Ireland
Sweden
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Netherlands
France
Germany

Malta
Euro area

Italy
Belgium

Denmark

Greece EU

Bulgaria

Spain

Finland

Austria

Hungary
Luxembourg
Portugal

Cyprus
United Kingdom
Poland
Slovakia

Latvia
Lithuania

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 

Jun 

Jul 

Aug 

Sep 

Oct 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan 

Feb 

Mar 

Apr 

May 

Monthly Indices 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

111.40 

111.89  109.85  112.10  112.24  112.39  112.52  113.16  111.84  114.33  114.82  115.20  115.40 

108.4 

108.3 

108.6 

108.7 

108.5 

108.6 

108.7 

110.0 

109.4 

110.1 

110.8 

111.1 

110.9 

126.95 

126.95  127.26  127.22  128.21  128.92  129.32  129.94  129.91  130.78  131.84  132.90  133.42 

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 

105.5 

105.4 

105.6 

105.4 

105.5 

105.3 

105.5 

105.2 

106.1 

106.6 

106.9 

106.9 

118.53  118.02  117.15  119.38  119.54  119.78  120.37  119.19  117.60  121.37  122.17  122.44 

113.53  112.26  112.51  113.54  114.05  114.41  115.04  113.54  113.65  116.33  117.35  117.21 

109.04  108.68  108.95  108.91  109.07  109.22  109.75  109.44  109.97  110.93  111.33  111.41 

111.1 

110.1 

110.3 

111.0 

111.8 

111.8 

112.2 

110.4 

110.6 

113.0 

114.1 

114.3 

112.39  111.44  112.42  113.55  114.19  113.35  113.12  112.72  113.16  114.33  115.91  116.64 

113.18  112.76  113.85  113.84  113.97  114.13  114.67  114.27  116.02  117.00  117.42  117.56 

113.63  114.29  115.41  114.57  113.89  112.21  112.76  111.31  111.01  112.69  115.11  116.57 

107.64  107.01  107.16  107.96  108.22  108.06  107.77  107.68  108.67  110.21  110.82  110.98p

109.63  109.07  109.36  109.78  110.18  110.18  110.93  110.86  111.75  113.11  113.78r  113.66p

109.09  109.51  109.37  109.27  109.65  109.73  110.15  110.68  110.62  112.41  113.03  112.92 

116.76  116.08  116.23  115.71  115.88  116.22  116.39  115.88  115.92  117.51  118.37  119.35 

112.25  112.40  112.28  112.27  112.30  112.62  112.90  115.23  115.56  116.02  116.57  116.95 

110.54  109.85  110.28  110.77  111.23  111.48  112.07  112.51  113.36  114.02  114.23  114.06 

109.84 

110.10  109.63  109.85  110.19  110.52  110.62  111.29  110.50  110.96  112.47  113.10  113.10p

136.58 

136.03  136.74  136.96  137.25  137.50  138.24  139.30  139.94  140.71  141.27  141.14  141.29 

113.7 

110.8 

137.91 

128.60 

129.70 

115.6 

135.17 

110.80 

114.5 

114.0 

114.3 

114.0 

113.8 

113.5 

113.7 

114.3 

115.2 

115.2 

115.4 

115.6 

116.3 

110.7 

110.6 

111.1 

111.5 

111.4 

111.5 

111.6 

111.7 

112.8 

113.5 

114.0 

114.2 

138.41  138.70  137.72  138.31  138.75  138.99  139.20  140.96  141.35  142.31  143.87  144.49 

128.53  128.58  128.29  129.06  129.57  129.52  130.51  131.05  131.15  132.44  133.81  134.86 

130.61  130.66  130.04  129.86  130.37  130.64  131.18  132.35  132.87  134.25  135.21  135.46 

115.9 

115.7 

115.3 

115.9 

116.3 

116.5 

116.9 

118.1 

118.3 

119.4 

120.0 

120.6 

133.00  136.45  136.76  137.53  138.29  139.02  139.76  140.85  141.94  142.80  143.75  144.06 

110.67  110.18  110.12  111.02  111.38  111.59  112.27  111.27  111.81  112.25  112.63  112.66 

114.6 

114.3 

114.9 

114.9 

115.2 

115.6 

116.8 

116.9 

117.8 

118.1 

119.3 

119.5 

111.77 

111.95  111.63  111.85  112.16  112.49  112.66  113.39  112.93  113.44  114.69  115.39r 115.49p

152.79 

153.37  152.43  153.02  152.76  153.84  153.78  154.44  152.55  154.68  156.11  157.78  160.28 

111.8 

111.9 

111.2 

110.7 

111.5 

111.6 

111.8 

113.3 

112.4 

113.0 

113.4 

114.1 

113.8 

111.80 

111.98  111.66  111.87  112.18  112.51  112.68  113.42  112.95  113.47  114.71  115.41r 115.50p

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 

EU3) 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA4) 

Switzerland 

104.1 

104.3 

103.8 

103.8 

103.6 

104.2 

104.1 

104.0 

104.0 

104.3 

105.0 

105.0 

104.9 

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

2 

8/2011 — Data in focus  

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

12-month  
average rates 

Annual rates 

Dec  May  May 

Jun 

Jul 

Aug 

Sep 

Oct 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan 

Feb  Mar 

Apr  May 

2010  2011 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2010 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2.3 

1.2 

2.7 

3.1 

1.7 

4.5 

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 

-0.2 

-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 

4.8 

2.7 

1.9 

2.1 

3.0 

3.2 

2.7 

  1.6p 

  2.4p 

2.7 

2.2 

2.1 

2.5 

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 

3.0 

1.2 

2.2 

-1.2 

1.2 

4.7 

2.7 

6.1 

1.9 

3.3 

3.7 

1.8 

2.5 

1.9 

2.8 

4.2 

3.0 

7.5 

1.5 

3.7 

3.0 

1.0 

1.9 

0.5 

4.9 

2.3 

4.4 

1.9 

3.4 

2.1 

  2.6p 

2.1 

7.5 

2.3 

4.2 

1.6 

10.0 

2.6 

2.1 

  2.6p 

2.1 

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 

0.9 

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 

-2.4 

-1.6 

-0.7 

-0.4 

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 

2.8 

2.2 

2.0 

2.7 

0.2 

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 

2.4 

4.6 

1.9 

2.6 

3.8 

3.0 

4.2 

3.3 

7.6 

1.2 

4.4 

2.9 

2.3 

1.1 

2.9 

0.5 

3.5 

2.3 

5.1 

1.2 

4.3 

3.3 

2.2 

2.8 

3.2 

4.0 

2.8 

2.0 

3.3 

3.9 

2.4 

3.8 

3.5 

2.7 

4.6 

1.9 

2.5 

4.1 

3.7 

4.6 

4.0 

8.0 

1.4 

4.0 

3.3 

2.7 

5.4 

1.5 

3.7 

3.5 

2.2 

2.9 

3.5 

4.0 

2.4 

2.2 

3.7 

4.0 

2.0 

3.9 

3.4 

3.1 

2.4 

5.5 

1.2 

3.1 

3.4 

2.2 

3.0 

4.1 

3.8 

2.5 

  2.4p 

  3.7p 

3.7 

2.4 

4.2 

3.4 

2.8 

  2.7p

3.3 

1.6 

2.8 

4.3 

4.4 

4.4 

4.1 

8.4 

1.8 

4.5 

3.4 

2.0 

3.1 

4.8 

5.0 

3.9 

4.3 

8.5 

1.7 

4.5 

3.1 

  3.3r

  3.2p

2.3 

0.9 

3.1 

1.0 

3.1 

1.3 

4.3 

1.6 

3.2 

  3.2p

0.1 

0.3 

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 

0.3 

1.0 

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

  Data in focus — 8/2011 

3 

Euro area 

1.6 

  2.1p 

1.7 

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

May 2011 

Main categories 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

00 

3.1 

2.4 

5.5 

1.2 

3.1 

3.4 

2.2 

3.0 

4.1 

3.8 

2.5 

01 

2.1 

3.3 

12.1 

1.0 

3.4 

2.0 

1.4 

3.1 

4.7 

3.2 

6.3 

02 

0.1 

0.9 

8.7 

0.0 

3.7 

14.7 

3.3 

2.2 

8.4 

2.7 

3.4 

03 

1.0 

2.9 

2.7 

-0.4 

3.1 

0.6 

1.3 

1.5 

10.9 

1.2 

1.6 

04 

8.5 

3.7 

4.2 

2.1 

9.0 

7.6 

4.4 

4.9 

7.7 

7.4 

3.9 

05 

1.0 

0.5 

-0.3 

-1.8 

1.1 

1.4 

0.8 

1.5 

1.2 

1.7 

0.7 

06 

0.1 

1.0 

0.0 

4.0 

0.7 

-0.7 

0.6 

3.2 

3.1 

12.0 

1.4 

07 

6.5 

4.3 

3.6 

3.3 

5.3 

7.9 

4.6 

5.7 

6.5 

5.7 

6.9 

08 

2.2 

-2.7 

1.8 

4.2 

1.6 

0.3 

-2.9 

-1.0 

2.5 

0.4 

-8.0 

09 

0.0 

0.3 

1.5 

-0.4 

0.5 

-0.6 

-1.0 

0.2 

-0.4 

1.0 

-0.6 

10 

-0.5 

2.3 

2.0 

-1.3 

-0.1 

2.2 

2.5 

1.8 

3.3 

8.0 

4.4 

11 

2.0 

1.0 

6.6 

-0.6 

1.0 

1.7 

1.6 

2.4 

1.0 

2.8 

0.2 

12 

3.2 

2.2 

2.7 

5.9 

2.2 

3.0 

2.8 

2.9 

1.0 

3.1 

4.3 

Netherlands 

   2.4p 

   2.7p 

   3.1p 

   0.4p 

   3.2p 

   1.6p 

   5.0p 

   4.6p 

   0.7p 

  -0.4p 

   2.2p 

   2.6p 

   2.5p 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

   3.7p 

   5.1p 

   3.4p 

   3.4p 

   3.1p 

   1.1p 

   2.1p 

   6.3p 

   1.6p 

   2.2p 

   3.3p 

   3.8p 

   3.7p 

3.7 

2.4 

4.2 

3.4 

2.5 

6.8 

7.4 

6.8 

9.5 

6.5 

4.2 

0.8 

-2.0 

-1.8 

2.6 

0.8 

5.4 

7.5 

6.3 

7.3 

1.3 

3.0 

-1.4 

2.5 

3.5 

2.3 

3.5 

0.7 

9.7 

1.7 

6.1 

4.2 

4.0 

2.2 

0.4 

-2.0 

2.4 

-1.0 

0.7 

0.9 

2.1 

1.0 

4.5 

4.0 

0.3 

-5.3 

2.2 

1.1 

2.1 

2.2 

3.9 

3.5 

Euro area 

   2.7p 

   2.7p 

   3.3p 

   1.5p 

   4.7p 

   1.0p 

   1.4p 

   5.3p 

  -1.0p 

   0.0p 

   1.8p 

   1.7p 

   2.7p 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

3.4 

2.0 

3.1 

4.8 

5.0 

3.9 

4.3 

8.5 

1.7 

4.5 

8.3 

6.5 

4.7 

11.3 

11.1 

9.7 

7.9 

11.5 

1.5 

5.8 

0.7 

3.2 

5.9 

1.2 

1.2 

-1.5 

3.9 

13.4 

1.2 

9.8 

1.9 

-2.1 

1.4 

5.1 

1.8 

3.8 

0.8 

2.3 

2.2 

1.2 

2.0 

3.7 

4.2 

7.5 

7.7 

3.9 

4.9 

9.1 

3.7 

4.3 

0.2 

-1.5 

2.3 

0.0 

-0.4 

0.0 

1.9 

2.4 

-1.3 

4.3 

4.1 

1.9 

3.1 

-3.4 

1.9 

3.0 

4.3 

2.2 

1.1 

3.9 

6.6 

1.8 

3.7 

6.5 

7.4 

6.0 

5.8 

12.3 

3.2 

8.0 

-1.6 

-1.0 

3.3 

-1.9 

-3.5 

0.0 

-2.0 

2.6 

-0.5 

3.7 

-2.9 

-1.6 

-0.1 

-2.8 

-0.6 

1.0 

0.5 

3.7 

-1.2 

0.9 

1.9 

2.3 

5.1 

1.3 

-0.7 

-0.9 

2.1 

4.1 

2.4 

5.3 

0.4 

0.1 

2.4 

1.7 

1.6 

1.6 

4.2 

3.1 

3.2 

4.5 

2.5 

0.8 

2.1 

0.4 

1.4 

1.1 

2.2 

2.6 

2.0 

2.5 

   3.2p 

   4.1p 

   4.5p 

   1.5p 

   4.7p 

   1.5p 

   1.9p 

   5.8p 

  -0.3p 

   0.2p 

   2.7p 

   2.3p 

   2.6p 

4.3 

1.6 

1.7 

-0.9 

3.0 

5.9 

0.0 

-4.2 

11.1 

1.3 

-0.1 

-0.6 

-0.1 

2.5 

10.7 

3.3 

6.9 

-2.4 

-2.8 

0.4 

5.6 

2.4 

5.3 

3.2 

2.2 

3.1 

   3.2p 

   4.1p 

   4.5p 

   1.4p 

   4.7p 

   1.5p 

   1.9p 

   5.8p 

  -0.3p 

   0.2p 

   2.7p 

   2.3p 

   2.6p 

Switzerland 

0.3 

-2.4 

2.5 

0.0 

2.3 

-1.5 

0.2 

1.8 

-0.5 

-2.6 

1.4 

1.3 

0.4 

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 

8/2011 — 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 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

112.02  112.11  110.22  110.35  111.78  111.99  111.83  112.06  115.12  115.31 

142.08  143.43 

118.31  118.23 

108.2 

108.2 

107.0 

106.8 

107.9 

107.8 

108.0 

107.9 

110.9 

110.7 

134.5 

133.7 

113.8 

114.3 

128.77  129.36  120.07  120.94  127.36  128.19  127.21  128.02  131.53  132.06 

164.83  164.87 

147.12  147.13 

103.8 

103.9 

102.9 

102.9 

104.3 

104.3 

104.0 

104.1 

105.7 

105.8 

139.5 

139.8 

107.4 

107.4 

118.16  118.45  116.39  116.65  118.06  118.32  117.99  118.22  121.04  121.32 

171.83  171.84 

123.86  124.27 

114.01  114.05  112.26  112.22  113.92  113.90  113.94  113.95  116.49  116.34 

147.42  145.45 

118.80  119.12 

109.31  109.58  108.71  108.78  109.03  109.18  109.22  109.39  111.15  111.22 

132.77  130.68 

111.49  112.49 

113.1 

113.2 

112.2 

112.2 

113.0 

113.0 

113.0 

113.1 

113.8 

114.0 

126.8 

126.9 

115.9 

116.6 

112.16  112.82  108.70  109.44  110.17  110.93  111.12  111.76  115.82  116.57 

149.09  150.76 

124.17  124.48 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

115.04  115.37  112.72  112.79  115.14  115.41  115.09  115.41  116.08  116.11 

136.14  134.78 

121.25  122.41 

Malta 

112.39  113.87  108.80  110.36  110.92  112.38  111.38  112.80  115.04  116.52 

164.93  165.95 

124.70  125.78 

Netherlands 

109.62  109.79p  108.31  108.46p  109.24  109.47p 109.19  109.42p 110.29  110.42p  121.18  121.35p  115.35  115.59p

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

112.16r  112.10p  110.92r  110.98p  111.71r  111.79p 111.74r  111.81p 113.69r  113.57p  132.51  131.69p  118.40r  117.77p

110.06  110.01  109.61  109.49  110.61  110.53  110.22  110.15  112.15  112.04 

135.94  135.38 

111.52  111.69 

114.50  115.58  109.53  110.08  113.44  114.05  113.56  114.16  117.45  118.47 

145.60  145.86 

129.96  132.72 

113.76  114.17  110.46  110.63  113.08  113.41  112.30  112.66  115.69  116.08 

129.95  130.18 

122.74  123.81 

111.99  111.80  109.91  109.85  111.60  111.66  111.70  111.73  113.96  113.79 

143.86  144.03 

119.03  118.39 

Euro area 

110.80  110.90p  109.58  109.56p  110.52  110.58p 110.60  110.67p 112.75  112.74p  135.56  134.69p  115.31  115.85p

Bulgaria 

141.66  141.54  131.19  131.25  143.13  143.10  142.12  142.12  136.65  136.81 

137.42  139.45 

165.81  165.28 

Czech Republic 

111.9 

112.5 

106.7 

106.8 

112.0 

112.7 

111.5 

112.2 

113.4 

114.0 

141.2 

141.5 

123.4 

125.6 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

112.0 

112.2 

109.8 

109.9 

111.9 

112.2 

111.7 

111.9 

113.7 

113.9 

131.3 

131.2 

119.9 

120.7 

137.15  137.71  120.74  120.91  135.12  135.67  135.27  135.93  139.84  140.38 

195.62  196.67 

170.79  172.24 

127.58  128.58  113.17  113.73  124.59  125.41  126.16  127.24  131.75  132.82 

178.25  179.64 

153.15  154.97 

130.20  130.51  120.83  121.10  127.14  127.41  127.55  127.80  135.20  135.50 

169.42  169.30 

151.39  151.78 

116.3 

117.0 

109.5 

109.9 

114.9 

115.3 

115.1 

115.5 

118.2 

118.8 

144.4 

144.7 

130.4 

131.9 

140.58  140.94  129.19  129.47  141.91  142.22  138.82  139.10  137.10  137.35 

158.60  158.66 

151.43  151.86 

110.33  110.37  108.14  108.26  109.90  110.04  110.01  110.13  111.90  111.93 

130.84  130.84 

118.39  118.11 

United Kingdom 

115.4 

115.7 

112.4 

112.4 

114.6 

114.7 

114.9 

115.1 

118.1 

118.3 

165.7 

166.5 

132.1 

133.5 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

112.68p  112.85p  110.40p  110.42p  112.20p 112.30p 112.31p 112.43p 114.69p 114.78p  140.82p  140.30p  121.01p 121.73p

153.79  156.39  153.02  156.03  154.36  157.01  153.33  155.99  157.63  160.17 

201.17  202.57 

156.66  157.70 

111.1 

110.8 

110.3 

109.7 

111.8 

111.4 

111.2 

110.8 

113.8 

113.5 

143.9 

142.8 

114.8 

115.3 

112.69p  112.85p  110.43p  110.44p  112.22p 112.32p 112.33p 112.45p 114.71p 114.80p  140.94p  140.43p  120.98p 121.69p

Switzerland 

103.6 

103.5 

104.0 

103.8 

103.9 

103.8 

103.8 

103.7 

104.9 

104.8 

124.4 

123.6 

101.2 

101.8 

Source: Eurostat (online data code :  prc_hicp_midx) 

  Data in focus — 8/2011 

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.  The  EU  and  EEA  totals  for  April  2011  have  been  revised  as  Eurostat  estimates  for  the  United  Kingdom  have 

been replaced by actual data, which were not available in time for the previous release. 

4.  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 

6 

8/2011 — 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: 28.06.2011  
Data extracted on: 16.06.2011 
ISSN 1977-0340 
Catalogue number: KS-QA-11-008-EN-N 
© European Union, 2011