Harmonised indices of consumer prices. March 2012.
Date: 2012-05-02
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  
4/2012 

HARMONISED INDICES OF CONSUMER PRICES 
MARCH 2012 

EURO AREA1)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.7% IN MARCH 2012, 
UNCHANGED FROM FEBRUARY 

EU2)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.9% IN MARCH 2012, 

UNCHANGED FROM FEBRUARY 

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

Euro area
US CPI

EU
JP CPI

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

03/11

04/11

05/11

06/11

07/11

08/11

09/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

01/12

02/12

03/12

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

Figure 2: Annual inflation rates (in %), March 2012*

2.2 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.4 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.9

5.5

4.7

4.2

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

1.7 1.8

1.4

1.1

Sweden

Greece

Bulgaria

Spain

Ireland
Germany

Slovenia
Malta

Romania

France
Denmark

Euro area
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Austria

Finland EU

Belgium

Latvia

Cyprus
Lithuania
Portugal
United Kingdom

Czech Republic
Estonia
Poland
Slovakia
Italy

Hungary

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

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2012 

2012 

2012 

115.27 

115.20  115.40  115.74  114.19  115.94  116.03  116.24  116.66  116.79  115.48  118.16  118.38 

111.1 

111.1 

110.9 

110.9 

111.4 

111.4 

111.6 

111.7 

111.7 

112.5 

111.9 

112.9 

113.4 

133.40 

132.90  133.42  133.22  133.96  134.33  135.08  134.97  135.07  135.26  136.01  136.58  137.99 

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 

106.9 

106.9 

106.7 

106.5 

106.7 

106.8 

107.1 

107.1 

107.0 

106.6 

107.8 

108.9 

122.17  122.44  122.19  120.51  118.80  122.83  122.96  123.19  122.98  121.64  119.56  123.02 

117.35  117.21  116.99  115.62  115.58  116.97  117.46  117.72  117.75  115.79  115.83  118.38 

111.33  111.41  111.50  110.95  111.58  111.55  111.85  112.19  112.69  112.24  112.77  113.82 

114.1 

114.3 

114.4 

112.4 

112.8 

115.0 

116.0 

115.9 

116.3 

114.2 

114.4 

117.3 

115.91  116.64  117.50  115.32  115.51  116.44  117.82  117.94  117.82  116.20  116.69  118.36 

117.42  117.56  117.48  116.40  118.02  118.19  118.28  118.65  118.58  117.95  119.82  120.38 

115.11  116.57  117.14  116.84  118.12  117.65  116.61  113.91  114.24  112.99  113.72  115.39p

110.74  110.82  110.12  110.48  110.61  111.15  111.27  110.83  110.48  110.61  111.72  113.26p

113.78  113.68  113.64  113.23  113.42  114.10  114.35  114.43  114.70  114.07  114.68r  116.11p

113.03  112.92  112.71  112.85  112.38  113.06  114.09  113.93  114.00  114.39  114.55  115.94 

118.37  119.35  118.58  117.31  117.62  118.33  119.25  119.44  118.84  118.49  119.18  120.38 

116.57  116.95  116.89  116.69  116.84  117.17  117.43  118.02  118.08  119.90  120.17  120.55 

114.23  114.06  114.35  113.86  114.10  114.60  114.80  115.04  114.99  115.93  116.80  117.37 

112.83 

113.09  113.10  113.09  112.43  112.65  113.48  113.87  113.98  114.35  113.43  113.99  115.47p

141.21 

141.14  141.29  140.85  141.36  141.17  141.20  141.66  141.78  142.15  142.65  143.50  143.70 

116.2 

113.8 

143.73 

133.90 

134.79 

120.1 

143.04 

112.31 

115.6 

116.3 

116.2 

116.5 

116.4 

116.2 

116.5 

117.0 

117.5 

119.6 

119.8 

120.2 

114.0 

114.2 

113.9 

113.9 

113.8 

114.2 

114.4 

114.3 

114.3 

114.8 

115.9 

116.6 

143.87  144.49  144.85  144.59  144.03  144.47  144.70  144.57  144.60  145.76  146.00  146.83 

133.81  134.86  134.73  134.44  133.97  135.08  135.00  135.25  135.04  135.55  136.03  137.35 

135.21  135.46  135.15  134.76  134.60  134.66  135.37  136.21  136.55  139.77  140.56  141.68 

120.0 

120.6 

120.2 

119.9 

119.9 

119.9 

120.7 

121.6 

122.2 

123.0 

123.5 

124.1 

143.75  144.06  143.64  143.13  142.64  142.34  143.26  143.86  144.20  144.79  145.76  146.42 

112.63  112.66  112.30  111.99  111.92  112.71  112.58  112.80  112.77  112.10  112.93  113.44 

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 Kingdom3) 

119.6 

119.3 

119.5 

119.4 

119.4 

120.1 

120.9 

121.0 

121.2 

121.7 

121.1 

121.8 

: 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA4) 

115.24 

115.39  115.49  115.42  114.92  115.16  115.89  116.26  116.43  116.83  116.18  116.78r 118.02p

159.22 

157.78  160.28  160.75  160.40  160.61  161.39  161.95  161.57  162.56  162.02  165.03  168.22 

113.1 

114.1 

113.8 

113.3 

112.9 

112.1 

113.3 

113.1 

113.1 

113.2 

112.7 

114.1 

114.0 

115.25 

115.41  115.50  115.43  114.93  115.16  115.90  116.26  116.43  116.83  116.17  116.78r 118.00p

Switzerland 

104.2 

105.1 

104.9 

104.8 

104.0 

103.4 

103.9 

103.8 

103.3 

103.6 

102.9 

103.0 

103.9 

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

2 

4/2012 — 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 

2011  2012 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2012 

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 

4.9 

1.4 

2.4 

2.7 

2.4 

3.2 

3.5 

3.6 

  2.2p 

  2.7p 

  3.5p 

3.5 

2.1 

4.2 

3.2 

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 

Euro area 

2.7 

  2.8p 

2.7 

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 

2.7 

2.7 

2.7 

4.1 

4.2 

4.3 

4.0 

4.6 

1.3 

: 

4.6 

1.9 

2.5 

4.1 

3.7 

4.6 

4.0 

8.0 

1.4 

4.0 

3.1 

  3.1p 

3.1 

4.2 

1.2 

5.4 

1.1 

2.3 

0.9 

3.1 

  3.1p 

3.1 

Switzerland 

0.1 

-0.3 

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 

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 

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 

2.7 

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 

3.0 

3.3 

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 

2.7 

1.9 

3.8 

2.8 

3.4 

3.4 

5.6 

4.1 

2.8 

0.7 

3.6 

3.3 

2.5 

4.4 

1.6 

1.7 

1.9 

2.5 

3.4 

3.1 

3.3 

2.4 

2.9 

2.6 

3.6 

2.8 

4.0 

3.0 

3.1 

2.3 

4.7 

2.2 

1.4 

1.8 

2.6 

3.8 

3.5 

2.9 

  2.4p 

  2.9p 

  2.7p 

3.1 

2.4 

3.9 

2.9 

2.7 

  2.7p

2.0 

4.0 

2.7 

3.3 

3.7 

5.8 

4.4 

2.7 

1.0 

3.4 

1.7 

4.2 

2.7 

3.2 

3.7 

5.5 

3.9 

2.5 

1.1 

: 

2.9 

  2.9r

  2.9p

6.2 

0.3 

2.9 

6.7 

1.0 

7.8 

0.5 

2.9 

  2.9p

0.2 

-0.4 

0.3 

-0.4 

-0.8 

-0.4 

-0.9 

-1.2 

-1.0 

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

  Data in focus — 4/2012 

3 

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

Mar 2012 

Main categories 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

00 

3.1 

2.3 

4.7 

2.2 

1.4 

1.8 

2.6 

3.8 

3.5 

2.9 

Malta 

   2.4p 

01 

3.9 

3.6 

2.8 

-0.4 

2.3 

1.7 

3.6 

2.6 

4.1 

2.5 

6.5 

02 

1.3 

4.0 

6.7 

3.9 

0.5 

2.1 

4.9 

7.4 

3.6 

3.3 

4.1 

03 

1.2 

3.6 

5.4 

-0.7 

-3.3 

0.5 

5.1 

2.8 

0.2 

2.8 

-4.8 

04 

6.5 

2.9 

11.3 

5.3 

6.8 

3.1 

3.6 

7.0 

12.2 

3.9 

0.2 

05 

2.2 

0.5 

3.0 

-2.1 

-0.3 

1.0 

2.1 

2.2 

0.7 

2.4 

3.1 

06 

1.0 

2.0 

-0.4 

0.7 

-1.0 

-3.0 

0.9 

6.7 

0.9 

1.3 

1.1 

07 

3.7 

3.6 

5.1 

7.3 

2.5 

5.4 

3.1 

8.0 

3.3 

3.5 

   3.3p 

08 

0.5 

-1.5 

-8.1 

0.4 

-1.0 

-3.4 

-7.3 

-1.8 

1.2 

-0.6 

-7.6 

09 

1.3 

1.6 

2.1 

-0.7 

-0.7 

0.7 

-0.2 

0.8 

0.1 

1.2 

-0.8 

10 

3.0 

-4.5 

6.1 

9.4 

-1.0 

2.9 

2.9 

2.0 

2.9 

2.1 

5.2 

11 

2.0 

1.8 

7.0 

0.1 

2.5 

0.9 

2.8 

1.0 

2.2 

2.9 

4.7 

12 

3.3 

0.1 

3.3 

2.5 

1.5 

1.8 

3.2 

2.8 

1.2 

3.3 

2.9 

Netherlands 

   2.9p 

   2.1p 

   5.6p 

   2.3p 

   3.8p 

   0.9p 

  11.0p 

   4.0p 

   0.4p 

   0.8p 

   2.8p 

   1.4p 

   3.4p 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

   2.7p 

   2.9p 

   2.6p 

   0.4p 

   3.6p 

   2.0p 

   1.4p 

   3.8p 

  -0.3p 

   1.4p 

   4.5p 

   3.4p 

   3.2p 

3.1 

2.4 

3.9 

2.9 

2.9 

3.6 

3.7 

5.0 

4.4 

4.4 

5.0 

6.1 

-6.0 

-1.8 

1.9 

3.7 

9.8 

4.7 

5.6 

3.1 

-0.3 

0.6 

0.4 

1.7 

3.5 

-0.2 

3.9 

0.7 

5.2 

4.7 

8.2 

3.5 

0.3 

-2.7 

-0.2 

-4.4 

0.0 

-0.5 

1.1 

-0.9 

1.6 

1.5 

5.8 

1.3 

2.9 

2.3 

3.5 

3.3 

1.3 

2.3 

4.1 

6.1 

Euro area 

   2.7p 

   3.0p 

   4.4p 

   2.5p 

   4.0p 

   1.4p 

   2.2p 

   4.6p 

  -2.8p 

   0.7p 

   0.9p 

   1.7p 

   2.2p 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

1.7 

4.2 

2.7 

3.2 

3.7 

5.5 

3.9 

2.5 

1.1 

: 

1.7 

9.7 

5.1 

2.9 

4.3 

4.7 

3.4 

-0.7 

1.2 

: 

0.0 

2.1 

5.8 

6.7 

2.5 

12.2 

5.7 

5.5 

5.0 

: 

0.2 

-3.6 

3.5 

-1.4 

-0.6 

3.5 

-4.4 

1.6 

-0.8 

: 

3.3 

8.4 

3.3 

10.2 

9.5 

6.3 

5.1 

7.1 

-0.5 

: 

-0.3 

-1.6 

0.4 

0.0 

1.3 

3.1 

2.0 

1.3 

0.8 

: 

6.7 

9.3 

-0.8 

-0.2 

1.1 

4.3 

4.2 

0.6 

2.4 

: 

4.4 

4.1 

2.8 

3.7 

4.8 

7.8 

8.2 

5.8 

3.5 

: 

-1.6 

-1.9 

-0.3 

-1.2 

-1.2 

3.8 

1.8 

4.5 

0.3 

: 

-5.6 

0.3 

-1.0 

-1.0 

0.5 

1.3 

1.2 

1.2 

-0.9 

: 

6.6 

2.2 

3.9 

-2.0 

1.9 

0.9 

3.2 

2.9 

1.6 

: 

1.9 

2.7 

3.3 

2.4 

4.2 

4.3 

3.1 

1.5 

1.1 

: 

2.5 

1.8 

4.1 

0.3 

3.3 

6.9 

4.5 

2.1 

1.8 

: 

   2.9p 

   3.2p 

   5.1p 

   2.0p 

   4.4p 

   1.7p 

   2.5p 

   4.7p 

  -1.3p 

   0.5p 

   2.1p 

   2.1p 

   2.5p 

7.8 

0.5 

5.9 

2.2 

4.5 

3.3 

2.9 

-1.2 

10.4 

-8.6 

2.8 

0.8 

3.8 

3.1 

14.7 

3.2 

5.4 

-5.6 

4.9 

0.0 

2.5 

3.9 

7.1 

2.5 

5.9 

3.1 

   2.9p 

   3.2p 

   5.0p 

   1.9p 

   4.3p 

   1.7p 

   2.5p 

   4.7p 

  -1.3p 

   0.5p 

   2.1p 

   2.1p 

   2.5p 

Switzerland 

-1.0 

-2.0 

1.6 

-7.8 

1.0 

-1.3 

0.0 

-3.0 

0.1 

-5.1 

1.6 

0.9 

-0.2 

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 

4/2012 — 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 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

Feb 

Mar 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

114.32  114.28  112.24  112.15  114.03  113.99  114.12  114.07  118.11  118.33 

151.41  154.16 

121.50  121.63 

109.7 

110.0 

108.0 

108.3 

109.3 

109.5 

109.5 

109.8 

112.6 

113.1 

139.2 

141.3 

117.4 

117.9 

130.52  131.80  122.30  123.08  129.96  131.15  130.12  131.19  135.29  136.48 

183.88  186.26 

148.02  150.41 

103.9 

104.9 

102.6 

103.9 

104.4 

105.5 

104.1 

105.2 

106.3 

107.5 

148.4 

151.1 

108.7 

108.8 

114.60  117.99  111.32  115.78  114.28  117.86  114.39  117.81  118.15  121.89 

186.19  190.31 

125.45  125.14 

111.79  114.28  108.87  112.05  111.32  114.12  111.60  114.24  114.88  117.46 

152.74  155.90 

120.56  120.68 

110.39  111.39  109.14  110.22  109.98  110.91  110.29  111.17  112.48  113.55 

138.16  139.71 

114.91  115.64 

112.1 

115.0 

110.1 

113.7 

111.7 

114.9 

111.9 

115.0 

114.0 

116.8 

141.0 

143.5 

119.5 

119.8 

111.71  113.07  106.80  108.29  108.60  110.19  109.47  111.00  116.55  118.16 

166.05  171.75 

129.78  130.51 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

117.23  117.49  114.71  114.90  117.36  117.61  117.35  117.59  118.39  118.93 

140.64  143.81 

124.06  124.57 

Malta 

110.74  112.42p  104.86  107.00p  108.00  109.90p 108.81  110.66p 113.51  115.21p  168.50  170.12 

132.76  132.32 

Netherlands 

109.88  111.39p  108.15  110.04p  109.52  111.14p 109.55  111.11p 111.10  112.68p  127.73  129.55p  117.36  117.29p

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

112.82r  114.15p  111.26r  112.72p  112.46r  113.86p 112.63r  114.00p 114.55r  116.01p  136.27r  138.88p  120.72  121.36p

110.41  111.64  109.15  110.67  110.74  112.20  110.58  111.95  113.69  115.01 

146.81  149.43 

114.48  114.80 

114.13  115.16  108.05  109.37  112.84  114.10  113.23  114.44  118.23  119.47 

155.32  157.80 

133.23  133.32 

116.17  116.88  113.14  113.31  116.29  116.88  115.59  116.16  119.26  119.58 

139.76  138.46 

124.38  126.53 

114.33  114.84  111.20  111.74  113.88  114.37  114.14  114.63  116.52  117.11 

149.39  150.86 

124.94  125.33 

Euro area 

111.05  112.46p  109.10  110.76p  110.63  112.11p 110.85  112.27p 113.53  115.03p  142.78  145.03p  118.40  118.81p

Bulgaria 

142.86  142.87  132.57  132.40  144.51  144.48  143.77  143.80  139.09  139.29 

147.08  148.46 

166.64  167.07 

Czech Republic 

115.0 

115.3 

108.4 

108.2 

115.0 

115.3 

114.7 

115.0 

117.7 

118.0 

153.5 

154.1 

130.3 

131.8 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

113.8 

114.3 

110.8 

111.3 

113.7 

114.2 

113.6 

114.0 

115.5 

116.2 

133.5 

136.3 

125.4 

125.6 

137.39  138.14  119.64  120.21  135.55  136.19  136.09  136.62  141.55  142.39 

212.17  213.67 

174.28  175.43 

128.35  129.64  113.42  114.56  125.72  126.87  127.50  128.68  133.94  135.27 

191.32  192.78 

154.92  156.48 

134.25  135.21  123.94  124.28  131.80  132.66  132.54  133.30  140.19  140.98 

183.76  185.97 

157.92  160.43 

118.7 

119.3 

111.7 

111.9 

117.7 

118.2 

118.3 

118.8 

121.4 

122.0 

155.8 

156.6 

133.6 

134.9 

141.59  142.15  133.32  133.56  146.40  146.87  142.89  143.32  138.67  139.30 

166.07  167.39 

149.77  150.79 

110.47  111.08  107.81  108.45  110.08  110.71  110.22  110.84  112.01  112.49 

132.53  132.15 

120.41  120.85 

United Kingdom 

117.3 

: 

113.6 

: 

116.2 

: 

116.6 

: 

120.5 

: 

176.4 

: 

137.6 

: 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

113.39r  114.54p  110.43  111.76p  112.83r  114.03p 113.09r  114.25p 115.95r  117.16p  148.72r  150.54p  124.32r  124.81p

160.73  163.57  159.40  162.85  160.95  164.02  160.23  163.20  164.89  168.12 

212.36  219.60 

165.85  166.14 

111.2 

111.7 

109.6 

110.2 

111.8 

112.3 

111.3 

111.8 

113.7 

113.5 

139.1 

130.8 

117.6 

117.8 

113.40r  114.54p  110.46  111.77p  112.85r  114.05p 113.10r  114.26p 115.96r  117.16p  148.78r  150.50p  124.28r  124.76p

Switzerland 

101.5 

102.3 

101.8 

102.6 

101.9 

102.7 

101.8 

102.5 

102.8 

103.7 

123.5 

125.9 

99.9 

100.4 

Source: Eurostat (online data code : prc_hicp_midx) 

  Data in focus — 4/2012 

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  the  United  Kingdom  for  March  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. 

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 

4/2012 — 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: 02.05.2012 
Data extracted on: 17.04.2012 
ISSN 1977-0340 
Catalogue number: KS-QA-12-004-EN-N 
© European Union, 2012