Harmonised indices of consumer prices. February 2012.
Date: 2012-03-22
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, consumer price, economic statistics, price index

Economy and finance 

Author:  Jarko PASANEN 

D a t a   i n   f o c u s  
3/2012 

HARMONISED INDICES OF CONSUMER PRICES 
FEBRUARY 2012 

EURO AREA1)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.7% IN FEBRUARY 2012, 

UNCHANGED FROM JANUARY 

EU2)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 3.0% IN FEBRUARY 2012, 

UP FROM 2.9% IN JANUARY 

Figure 1: Annual inflation rates (in %), February 2011 - February 2012

Euro area
US CPI

EU
JP CPI

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

02/11

03/11

04/11

05/11

06/11

07/11

08/11

09/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

01/12

02/12

   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 2012*

5.8

2.4 2.5 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.6 3.6 3.7

4.4 4.4

4.0 4.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

1.7 1.9 2.0

1.3

1.0

Sweden

Ireland

Greece

Bulgaria
Spain

Malta
Germany

France

Denmark
Austria

Romania

Euro area

Slovenia
Netherlands

Finland EU

Cyprus

Belgium

Luxembourg
Latvia

Czech Republic
Lithuania
Portugal
United Kingdom
Slovakia
Italy

Estonia

Poland

Hungary

   * Data for Malta, the Netherlands and Austria are provisional. Data for Ireland and the United Kingdom are of January 2012. 
    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 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2012 

2012 

115.27 

114.82  115.20  115.40  115.74  114.19  115.94  116.03  116.24  116.66  116.79  115.48r 118.16 

111.1 

110.8 

111.1 

110.9 

110.9 

111.4 

111.4 

111.6 

111.7 

111.7 

112.5 

111.9 

112.9 

133.40 

131.84  132.90  133.42  133.22  133.96  134.33  135.08  134.97  135.07  135.26  136.01  136.58 

106.6 

121.35 

116.35 

111.28 

113.8 

115.93 

117.32 

115.10 

110.23 

113.42 

112.72 

118.03 

116.79 

114.16 

106.6 

106.9 

106.9 

106.7 

106.5 

106.7 

106.8 

107.1 

107.1 

107.0 

106.6 

: 

121.37  122.17  122.44  122.19  120.51  118.80  122.83  122.96  123.19  122.98  121.64  119.56 

116.33  117.35  117.21  116.99  115.62  115.58  116.97  117.46  117.72  117.75  115.79  115.83 

110.93  111.33  111.41  111.50  110.95  111.58  111.55  111.85  112.19  112.69  112.24  112.77 

113.0 

114.1 

114.3 

114.4 

112.4 

112.8 

115.0 

116.0 

115.9 

116.3 

114.2 

114.4 

114.33  115.91  116.64  117.50  115.32  115.51  116.44  117.82  117.94  117.82  116.20  116.69 

117.00  117.42  117.56  117.48  116.40  118.02  118.19  118.28  118.65  118.58  117.95  119.82 

112.69  115.11  116.57  117.14  116.84  118.12  117.65  116.61  113.91  114.24  112.99  113.72p

110.08  110.74  110.82  110.12  110.48  110.61  111.15  111.27  110.83  110.48  110.61  111.72p

113.11  113.78  113.68  113.64  113.23  113.42  114.10  114.35  114.43  114.70  114.07r  114.69p

112.41  113.03  112.92  112.71  112.85  112.38  113.06  114.09  113.93  114.00  114.39  114.55 

117.51  118.37  119.35  118.58  117.31  117.62  118.33  119.25  119.44  118.84  118.49  119.18 

116.02  116.57  116.95  116.89  116.69  116.84  117.17  117.43  118.02  118.08  119.90  120.17 

114.02  114.23  114.06  114.35  113.86  114.10  114.60  114.80  115.04  114.99  115.93  116.80 

112.83 

112.46  113.09  113.10  113.09  112.43  112.65  113.48  113.87  113.98  114.35  113.43r 113.99p 

141.21 

141.27  141.14  141.29  140.85  141.36  141.17  141.20  141.66  141.78  142.15  142.65r 143.50 

116.2 

113.8 

143.73 

133.90 

134.79 

120.1 

143.04 

112.31 

115.4 

115.6 

116.3 

116.2 

116.5 

116.4 

116.2 

116.5 

117.0 

117.5 

119.6 

119.8 

113.5 

114.0 

114.2 

113.9 

113.9 

113.8 

114.2 

114.4 

114.3 

114.3 

114.8 

115.9 

142.31  143.87  144.49  144.85  144.59  144.03  144.47  144.70  144.57  144.60  145.76  146.00 

132.44  133.81  134.86  134.73  134.44  133.97  135.08  135.00  135.25  135.04  135.55  136.03 

134.25  135.21  135.46  135.15  134.76  134.60  134.66  135.37  136.21  136.55  139.77  140.56 

119.4 

120.0 

120.6 

120.2 

119.9 

119.9 

119.9 

120.7 

121.6 

122.2 

123.0 

123.5 

142.80  143.75  144.06  143.64  143.13  142.64  142.34  143.26  143.86  144.20  144.79  145.76 

112.25  112.63  112.66  112.30  111.99  111.92  112.71  112.58  112.80  112.77  112.10  112.93 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland3) 

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 Kingdom3) 

119.6 

118.1 

119.3 

119.5 

119.4 

119.4 

120.1 

120.9 

121.0 

121.2 

121.7 

121.1 

: 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA4) 

115.24 

114.69  115.39  115.49  115.42  114.92  115.16  115.89  116.26  116.43  116.83  116.18  116.79p

159.22 

156.11  157.78  160.28  160.75  160.40  160.61  161.39  161.95  161.57  162.56  162.02  165.03 

113.1 

113.4 

114.1 

113.8 

113.3 

112.9 

112.1 

113.3 

113.1 

113.1 

113.2 

112.7 

114.1 

115.25 

114.70  115.41  115.50  115.43  114.93  115.16  115.90  116.26  116.43  116.83  116.17  116.80p

Switzerland 

104.2 

105.0 

105.1 

104.9 

104.8 

104.0 

103.4 

103.9 

103.8 

103.3 

103.6 

102.9 

103.0 

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

2 

3/2012 — 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 

2011  2012 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011  2011 

2011 

2012 

2012 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

3.5 

2.5 

5.1 

1.2 

3.1 

3.1 

2.3 

2.9 

3.5 

3.7 

2.4 

2.5 

3.6 

3.6 

2.1 

4.1 

3.3 

3.4 

2.5 

5.0 

: 

2.7 

2.8 

2.4 

3.1 

3.5 

3.7 

  2.3p 

  2.6p 

  3.5p 

3.5 

2.1 

4.2 

3.3 

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 

Euro area 

2.7 

  2.8p 

2.4 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

3.4 

2.1 

2.7 

4.2 

4.1 

3.9 

3.9 

5.8 

1.4 

4.5 

3.0 

2.5 

2.7 

4.2 

4.2 

4.2 

4.0 

5.1 

1.3 

: 

4.6 

1.9 

2.6 

3.8 

3.0 

4.2 

3.3 

7.6 

1.2 

4.4 

3.1 

  3.1p 

2.9 

4.2 

1.2 

4.9 

1.1 

2.3 

1.1 

3.1 

  3.1p 

2.9 

Switzerland 

0.1 

-0.1 

0.4 

3.5 

2.3 

5.1 

1.2 

4.3 

3.3 

2.2 

2.8 

3.2 

4.0 

2.8 

1.9 

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 

3.1 

2.3 

0.9 

3.1 

1.0 

3.3 

2.7 

5.4 

1.5 

3.7 

3.5 

2.2 

2.9 

3.5 

4.0 

2.4 

2.1 

3.7 

4.0 

2.0 

3.9 

3.4 

2.8 

3.3 

1.6 

2.8 

4.3 

4.4 

4.4 

4.1 

8.4 

1.8 

4.5 

3.3 

3.1 

1.3 

3.2 

0.2 

3.1 

2.4 

5.5 

1.2 

3.1 

3.4 

2.2 

3.0 

4.1 

3.8 

2.5 

2.3 

3.7 

3.7 

2.4 

4.2 

3.4 

2.7 

3.4 

2.0 

3.1 

4.8 

5.0 

3.9 

4.3 

8.5 

1.7 

4.5 

3.2 

4.3 

1.6 

3.2 

0.3 

3.4 

2.4 

4.9 

1.1 

3.1 

3.0 

2.3 

3.0 

4.5 

3.8 

3.1 

2.3 

3.7 

3.3 

1.6 

4.1 

3.4 

2.7 

3.5 

1.9 

2.9 

4.7 

4.8 

3.5 

3.7 

8.0 

1.5 

4.2 

3.1 

4.8 

1.3 

3.1 

0.5 

4.0 

2.6 

5.3 

1.0 

2.1 

3.0 

2.1 

2.1 

3.5 

3.2 

2.2 

3.2 

3.8 

3.0 

1.1 

3.8 

3.7 

2.6 

3.4 

1.9 

3.0 

4.2 

4.6 

3.1 

3.6 

4.9 

1.6 

4.4 

2.9 

5.2 

1.5 

2.9 

3.4 

2.5 

5.6 

1.0 

1.4 

2.7 

2.4 

2.3 

2.7 

3.7 

2.3 

3.2 

3.7 

2.8 

1.2 

4.1 

3.5 

2.5 

3.1 

2.1 

2.4 

4.6 

4.4 

3.5 

4.0 

4.3 

1.6 

4.5 

3.0 

5.0 

1.3 

2.9 

0.2 

-0.4 

3.4 

2.9 

5.4 

1.3 

2.9 

3.0 

2.4 

3.6 

2.5 

3.8 

2.7 

3.0 

3.9 

3.5 

2.3 

4.4 

3.5 

3.0 

2.9 

2.1 

2.4 

4.5 

4.7 

3.7 

3.5 

3.5 

1.5 

5.2 

3.3 

5.6 

1.6 

3.3 

0.3 

3.4 

2.9 

4.7 

1.5 

2.9 

3.0 

2.5 

3.8 

3.2 

3.8 

2.4 

2.8 

3.8 

4.0 

2.9 

4.6 

3.2 

3.0 

3.0 

2.6 

2.7 

4.3 

4.2 

3.8 

3.8 

3.6 

1.1 

5.0 

3.4 

5.3 

1.3 

3.3 

3.7 

2.8 

4.4 

1.7 

2.8 

2.9 

2.7 

3.7 

4.0 

4.0 

1.5 

2.6 

3.9 

3.8 

2.8 

4.8 

3.2 

3.0 

2.6 

2.9 

2.5 

4.0 

4.4 

4.3 

4.4 

3.5 

1.1 

4.8 

3.3 

5.1 

1.2 

3.3 

3.2 

2.3 

4.1 

1.4 

2.2 

2.4 

2.7 

3.7 

4.2 

3.4 

1.3 

2.5 

3.4 

3.5 

2.1 

4.6 

2.6 

  3.3r 

2.3 

4.7 

1.3 

2.1 

2.0 

2.6 

3.4 

3.1 

3.2 

1.5 

2.9 

2.9 

3.4 

2.3 

4.1 

3.0 

3.3 

2.5 

4.4 

: 

1.7 

1.9 

2.5 

3.4 

3.1 

3.3 

  2.4p 

  2.9p 

  2.6p 

3.6 

2.8 

4.0 

3.0 

2.7 

  2.7r

  2.7p

2.0 

2.8 

2.4 

3.9 

3.5 

4.1 

4.5 

3.2 

0.4 

4.2 

3.0 

5.3 

-0.1 

1.9 

3.8 

2.8 

3.4 

3.4 

5.6 

4.1 

2.8 

0.7 

3.6 

2.0 

4.0 

2.7 

3.3 

3.7 

5.8 

4.4 

2.7 

1.0 

: 

2.9 

  3.0p

6.2 

0.3 

6.7 

1.0 

3.0 

2.9 

  2.9p

-0.4 

-0.8 

-0.4 

-0.9 

-1.2 

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

  Data in focus — 3/2012 

3 

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

Feb 2012 

Main categories 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

00 

3.3 

2.5 

4.4 

: 

1.7 

1.9 

2.5 

3.4 

3.1 

3.3 

Malta 

   2.4p 

01 

3.4 

3.6 

2.6 

: 

2.1 

2.1 

3.8 

3.0 

4.6 

2.5 

6.8 

02 

1.0 

3.7 

6.3 

: 

4.0 

2.2 

4.8 

6.2 

1.3 

3.0 

4.1 

03 

1.3 

3.1 

5.7 

: 

0.3 

0.5 

1.8 

-0.1 

-1.7 

3.4 

-3.6 

04 

7.7 

3.5 

10.8 

: 

8.7 

3.3 

3.9 

7.2 

11.6 

5.0 

0.2 

05 

2.4 

0.6 

3.0 

: 

-2.4 

1.1 

2.2 

1.8 

1.2 

1.9 

3.5 

06 

0.8 

1.9 

-0.9 

: 

-0.8 

-2.9 

1.3 

6.7 

1.0 

1.4 

0.8 

07 

4.3 

4.0 

4.9 

: 

2.1 

5.4 

3.0 

7.6 

2.9 

4.8 

   4.9p 

08 

0.5 

-1.5 

-7.7 

: 

-1.0 

-3.5 

-7.5 

-2.4 

-0.3 

-0.6 

-7.6 

09 

1.4 

1.9 

1.2 

: 

-1.0 

0.4 

-0.3 

1.2 

-0.3 

0.8 

-0.7 

10 

3.0 

-4.1 

5.7 

: 

-1.0 

2.8 

2.8 

2.0 

2.9 

2.1 

5.2 

11 

2.8 

1.9 

7.6 

: 

2.2 

0.9 

2.8 

1.4 

1.6 

3.0 

3.0 

12 

3.3 

0.6 

2.9 

: 

0.8 

1.9 

3.6 

2.8 

1.1 

3.8 

2.8 

Netherlands 

   2.9p 

   2.8p 

   5.0p 

   0.6p 

   3.8p 

   0.9p 

  10.9p 

   3.9p 

  -0.2p 

   0.8p 

   2.8p 

   2.3p 

   3.7p 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Euro area 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

   2.6p 

   3.3p 

   2.5p 

  -1.8p 

   3.8p 

   1.8p 

   1.5p 

   3.6p 

  -0.2p 

   2.5p 

   4.8p 

   3.4p 

   3.4p 

3.6 

2.8 

4.0 

3.0 

3.4 

3.7 

2.5 

4.9 

2.4 

3.8 

5.2 

6.1 

-2.7 

-4.3 

2.1 

2.2 

9.6 

5.7 

7.1 

3.5 

-0.4 

1.3 

0.8 

1.8 

4.2 

-0.4 

3.8 

0.8 

5.4 

3.5 

8.0 

4.1 

0.1 

-1.5 

-0.2 

-4.4 

0.9 

5.1 

0.4 

-0.4 

1.6 

1.4 

5.7 

1.3 

3.0 

2.6 

3.4 

3.5 

1.7 

2.5 

4.5 

6.0 

   2.7p 

   3.1p 

   4.1p 

   1.6p 

   4.4p 

   1.3p 

   2.3p 

   4.6p 

  -3.0p 

   0.9p 

   1.0p 

   1.9p 

   2.4p 

2.0 

4.0 

2.7 

3.3 

3.7 

5.8 

4.4 

2.7 

1.0 

: 

2.7 

7.9 

5.7 

2.6 

4.4 

6.3 

4.3 

-0.2 

1.0 

: 

-0.1 

1.9 

5.8 

5.5 

2.0 

8.4 

5.4 

5.5 

4.3 

: 

1.2 

-3.0 

2.7 

0.6 

-1.0 

4.7 

-1.9 

1.7 

-2.0 

: 

2.8 

8.4 

3.0 

9.8 

9.5 

6.3 

5.1 

7.2 

0.7 

: 

-0.2 

-0.8 

1.6 

0.4 

1.8 

3.0 

2.1 

1.4 

0.3 

: 

6.8 

10.0 

-0.9 

-0.9 

1.4 

4.4 

4.0 

0.5 

2.7 

: 

4.9 

4.1 

2.9 

5.4 

5.5 

8.7 

8.8 

7.5 

3.0 

: 

-1.3 

-1.0 

0.0 

-1.9 

-2.8 

5.1 

1.8 

2.4 

0.3 

: 

-5.7 

0.1 

-1.2 

-0.9 

0.5 

1.0 

1.0 

1.2 

-0.9 

: 

6.5 

2.2 

3.9 

-2.0 

1.1 

0.8 

3.3 

3.0 

1.6 

: 

2.0 

2.5 

3.4 

2.6 

4.5 

4.3 

3.4 

1.5 

0.8 

: 

2.4 

1.8 

4.2 

0.9 

2.3 

6.8 

4.8 

2.1 

1.4 

: 

   3.0p 

   3.2p 

   4.6p 

   1.6p 

   4.9p 

   1.6p 

   2.6p 

   4.7p 

  -1.5p 

   0.5p 

   2.1p 

   2.1p 

   2.6p 

6.7 

1.0 

5.4 

1.3 

4.7 

3.2 

0.4 

0.6 

9.6 

-5.1 

4.0 

0.8 

4.3 

3.0 

11.5 

2.5 

5.1 

-5.7 

5.1 

0.4 

2.5 

3.9 

5.7 

2.7 

6.5 

3.0 

   2.9p 

   3.2p 

   4.6p 

   1.6p 

   4.8p 

   1.6p 

   2.6p 

   4.7p 

  -1.5p 

   0.5p 

   2.1p 

   2.1p 

   2.6p 

Switzerland 

-1.2 

-2.2 

2.5 

-8.3 

1.2 

-2.2 

0.0 

-3.8 

0.1 

-5.1 

1.6 

0.5 

-0.3 

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 

3/2012 — 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 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

111.52r  114.32  108.95r  112.24  111.17r  114.03  111.39r  114.12  115.36r  118.11 

149.94  151.41 

120.40  121.50 

108.9 

109.7 

107.3 

108.0 

108.5 

109.3 

108.7 

109.5 

111.7 

112.6 

137.4 

139.2 

116.2 

117.4 

130.06  130.52  122.33  122.30  129.57  129.96  129.71  130.12  134.72  135.29 

182.42  183.88 

146.49  148.02 

102.8 

: 

101.2 

: 

103.2 

: 

103.0 

: 

105.1 

: 

146.6 

: 

108.6 

: 

117.00  114.60  114.41  111.32  116.99  114.28  117.01  114.39  120.30  118.15 

182.38  186.19 

125.48  125.45 

111.91  111.79  109.07  108.87  111.47  111.32  111.76  111.60  114.84  114.88 

151.10  152.74 

120.39  120.56 

109.94  110.39  108.73  109.14  109.61  109.98  109.91  110.29  111.94  112.48 

136.68  138.16 

114.34  114.91 

112.0 

112.1 

110.1 

110.1 

111.7 

111.7 

111.9 

111.9 

113.8 

114.0 

139.6 

141.0 

118.7 

119.5 

111.50  111.71  106.58  106.80  108.39  108.60  109.32  109.47  116.05  116.55 

161.92  166.05 

129.57  129.78 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

115.33  117.23  112.45  114.71  115.42  117.36  115.46  117.35  116.39  118.39 

139.02  140.64 

123.41  124.06 

Malta 

110.04  110.74p  104.29  104.86p  107.44  108.00p 108.25  108.81p 112.76  113.51p  167.30  168.50 

131.47  132.76 

Netherlands 

108.80  109.88p  107.27  108.15p  108.56  109.52p 108.59  109.55p 109.97  111.10p  126.42  127.73p  115.44  117.36p

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

112.26r  112.83p  110.71r  111.27p  111.91r  112.47p 112.07r  112.64p 113.95r  114.56p  135.08  136.28p  120.11r  120.72p

110.39  110.41  109.16  109.15  110.74  110.74  110.55  110.58  113.53  113.69 

145.51  146.81 

114.35  114.48 

113.81  114.13  107.96  108.05  112.78  112.84  113.21  113.23  117.52  118.23 

151.83  155.32 

132.16  133.23 

115.96  116.17  113.03  113.14  116.21  116.29  115.54  115.59  119.03  119.26 

139.16  139.76 

123.91  124.38 

113.50  114.33  110.53  111.20  113.10  113.88  113.30  114.14  115.64  116.52 

147.96  149.39 

123.57  124.94 

Euro area 

110.60  111.05p  108.72  109.10p  110.26r  110.63p 110.48  110.85p 112.96  113.53p  141.17  142.78p  117.66  118.40p

Bulgaria 

142.48r  142.86  132.68r  132.57  144.56r  144.51  143.80r  143.77  138.23r  139.09 

143.33r  147.08 

165.15r  166.64 

Czech Republic 

114.8 

115.0 

108.2 

108.4 

115.0 

115.0 

114.7 

114.7 

117.4 

117.7 

152.7 

153.5 

130.1 

130.3 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

112.7 

113.8 

109.7 

110.8 

112.6 

113.7 

112.5 

113.6 

114.4 

115.5 

132.3 

133.5 

124.2 

125.4 

137.29  137.39  120.14  119.64  135.94  135.55  136.46  136.09  141.33  141.55 

210.89  212.17 

172.70  174.28 

128.17  128.35  113.41  113.42  125.71  125.72  127.46  127.50  133.45  133.94 

188.57  191.32 

154.43  154.92 

133.33  134.25  123.69  123.94  131.18  131.80  131.90  132.54  139.42  140.19 

183.86  183.76 

155.31  157.92 

118.2 

118.7 

111.5 

111.7 

117.3 

117.7 

117.9 

118.3 

121.0 

121.4 

155.2 

155.8 

132.4 

133.6 

140.64  141.59  133.14  133.32  145.88  146.40  142.41  142.89  137.79  138.67 

165.02  166.07 

147.72  149.77 

109.79  110.47  107.31  107.81  109.49  110.08  109.62  110.22  111.29  112.01 

130.47  132.53 

118.98  120.41 

United Kingdom 

116.5 

: 

113.0 

: 

115.5 

: 

115.9 

: 

119.7 

: 

176.2 

: 

136.0 

: 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

112.87  113.37p  110.02  110.43p  112.39r  112.80p 112.65  113.07p 115.35  115.94p  147.35  148.87p  123.38  124.21p

157.84  160.73  155.88  159.40  157.73  160.95  157.15  160.23  161.84  164.89 

208.06  212.36 

165.54  165.85 

110.2 

111.2 

108.9 

109.6 

110.9 

111.8 

110.5 

111.3 

112.3 

113.7 

132.3 

139.1 

115.9 

117.6 

112.87  113.38p  110.04  110.46p  112.40  112.82p 112.66  113.08p 115.35  115.95p  147.36  148.93p  123.33  124.17p

Switzerland 

101.4 

101.5 

101.7 

101.8 

101.8 

101.9 

101.7 

101.8 

102.7 

102.8 

122.4 

123.5 

99.7 

99.9 

Source: Eurostat (online data code : prc_hicp_midx) 

  Data in focus — 3/2012 

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.  Data for Ireland and the United Kingdom for February 2012 were not available in time for publication. Due to this 

fact, MUICP, EU and EEA totals were calculated using Eurostat estimates. 

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. 

r  

revised 

:  not available 

Flags 
p  provisional 

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 

Further 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 

3/2012 — 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: 22.03.2012 
Data extracted on: 14.03.2012 
ISSN 1977-0340 
Catalogue number: KS-QA-12-003-EN-N 
© European Union, 2012