Harmonised indices of consumer prices. May 2012.
Date: 2012-06-20
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  
6/2012 

HARMONISED INDICES OF CONSUMER PRICES 
MAY 2012 

EURO AREA1)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.4% IN MAY 2012, 
DOWN FROM 2.6% IN APRIL 

EU2)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.6% IN MAY 2012, 

DOWN FROM 2.7% IN APRIL 

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

Euro area

US CPI

EU

JP CPI

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

05/11

06/11

07/11

08/11

09/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

01/12

02/12

03/12

04/12

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

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

1.8 1.9 1.9 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.7

3.4 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7

3.0 3.1

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

0.9 0.9

05/12

5.4

4.1

Greece

Sweden

Bulgaria

Ireland

Romania
Spain

Denmark

Germany

France

Latvia

United Kingdom
Belgium
Portugal
Lithuania EU
Czech Republic
Finland
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Slovakia
Euro area
Slovenia
Austria

Poland
Italy

Cyprus

Estonia
Malta
Hungary

 * Data for the Netherlands and Austria are provisional. Data for the United Kingdom are of April 2012. 
  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 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

115.27 

115.74  114.19  115.94  116.03  116.24  116.66  116.79  115.48  118.16  118.38  118.51  118.42 

111.1 

110.9 

111.4 

111.4 

111.6 

111.7 

111.7 

112.5 

111.9 

112.9 

113.4 

113.5 

113.3 

133.40 

133.22  133.96  134.33  135.08  134.97  135.07  135.26  136.01  136.58  137.99  138.60  138.89 

106.6 

121.35 

116.35 

111.28 

113.8 

115.93 

117.32 

106.7 

106.5 

106.7 

106.8 

107.1 

107.1 

107.0 

106.6 

107.8 

108.9 

108.9 

108.9 

122.19  120.51  118.80  122.83  122.96  123.19  122.98  121.64  119.56  123.02  124.03  123.60 

116.99  115.62  115.58  116.97  117.46  117.72  117.75  115.79  115.83  118.38  119.67  119.42 

111.50  110.95  111.58  111.55  111.85  112.19  112.69  112.24  112.77  113.82  114.02  113.96 

114.4 

112.4 

112.8 

115.0 

116.0 

115.9 

116.3 

114.2 

114.4 

117.3 

118.3 

118.3 

117.50  115.32  115.51  116.44  117.82  117.94  117.82  116.20  116.69  118.36  120.10  120.97 

117.48  116.40  118.02  118.19  118.28  118.65  118.58  117.95  119.82  120.38  120.91  120.71 

115.19r 

117.14  117.02r   118.30r  117.83r  116.79r  114.08r  114.42r  113.17r   113.90r   115.57r   119.48  120.92 

110.23 

113.42 

112.72 

118.03 

116.79 

114.16 

110.12  110.48  110.61  111.15  111.27  110.83  110.48  110.61  111.72  113.26  113.81  113.55p

113.64  113.23  113.42  114.10  114.35  114.43  114.70  114.07  114.68  116.10  116.43r  116.28p

112.71  112.85  112.38  113.06  114.09  113.93  114.00  114.39  114.55  115.94  116.33  115.97 

118.58  117.31  117.62  118.33  119.25  119.44  118.84  118.49  119.18  120.38  121.82  122.16 

116.89  116.69  116.84  117.17  117.43  118.02  118.08  119.90  120.17  120.55  120.84  120.96 

114.35  113.86  114.10  114.60  114.80  115.04  114.99  115.93  116.80  117.37  117.64  117.58 

112.83 

113.09  112.43  112.65  113.48  113.88r 113.98  114.35  113.43  113.99  115.47  116.01  115.85p

141.21 

140.85  141.36  141.17  141.20  141.66  141.78  142.15  142.65  143.50  143.70  144.03  143.87 

116.2 

113.8 

143.73 

133.90 

134.79 

116.2 

116.5 

116.4 

116.2 

116.5 

117.0 

117.5 

119.6 

119.8 

120.2 

120.2 

120.4 

113.9 

113.9 

113.8 

114.2 

114.4 

114.3 

114.3 

114.8 

115.9 

116.6 

116.6 

116.6 

144.85  144.59  144.03  144.47  144.70  144.57  144.60  145.76  146.00  146.83  147.85  147.88 

134.73  134.44  133.97  135.08  135.00  135.25  135.04  135.55  136.03  137.35  138.21  138.34 

135.15  134.76  134.60  134.66  135.37  136.21  136.55  139.77  140.56  141.68  142.81  142.71 

120.1 

120.2 

119.9 

119.9 

119.9 

120.7 

121.6 

122.2 

123.0 

123.5 

124.1 

124.8 

125.0 

143.04 

112.31 

143.64  143.13  142.64  142.34  143.26  143.86  144.20  144.79  145.76  146.42  146.52  146.93 

112.30  111.99  111.92  112.71  112.58  112.80  112.77  112.10  112.93  113.44  113.73  113.69 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta3) 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

Euro area3) 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom4) 

119.6 

119.4 

119.4 

120.1 

120.9 

121.0 

121.2 

121.7 

121.1 

121.8 

122.2 

122.9 

: 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA5) 

115.24 

115.42  114.92  115.16  115.89  116.26  116.43  116.83  116.18  116.78  117.98  118.54r 118.51p

159.22 

160.75  160.40  160.61  161.39  161.95  161.57  162.56  162.02  165.03  168.22  169.10  169.95 

113.1 

113.3 

112.9 

112.1 

113.3 

113.1 

113.1 

113.2 

112.7 

114.1 

114.0 

114.0 

114.0 

115.25 

115.43  114.93  115.16  115.90  116.26  116.43  116.83  116.17  116.78  117.97  118.52r 118.49p

Switzerland 

104.2 

104.8 

104.0 

103.4 

103.9 

103.8 

103.3 

103.6 

102.9 

103.0 

103.9 

103.9 

103.7 

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

2 

6/2012 — 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 

2011 

2012 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

3.5 

2.5 

5.1 

1.2 

3.1 

3.1 

2.3 

2.9 

3.5 

3.7 

Malta 

  2.5r 

3.3 

2.5 

4.7 

1.5 

2.1 

2.5 

2.5 

3.3 

3.5 

3.4 

2.6 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

2.5 

3.6 

3.6 

2.1 

4.1 

3.3 

  2.8p 

  3.2p 

3.3 

2.2 

4.1 

3.2 

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 

Euro area 

2.7 

  2.7p 

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 

2.5 

3.0 

2.6 

3.7 

3.9 

4.5 

4.0 

3.5 

1.1 

: 

3.4 

2.0 

3.1 

4.8 

5.0 

3.9 

4.3 

8.5 

1.7 

4.5 

3.1 

  3.0p 

3.2 

4.2 

1.2 

5.8 

0.8 

4.3 

1.6 

3.1 

  3.0p 

3.2 

Switzerland 

0.1 

-0.5 

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 

3.4 

2.5 

5.6 

1.0 

1.4 

2.7 

2.4 

2.3 

2.7 

3.7 

3.4 

2.9 

5.4 

1.3 

2.9 

3.0 

2.4 

3.6 

2.5 

3.8 

3.4 

2.9 

4.7 

1.5 

2.9 

3.0 

2.5 

3.8 

3.2 

3.8 

3.7 

2.8 

4.4 

1.7 

2.8 

2.9 

2.7 

3.7 

4.0 

4.0 

3.2 

2.3 

4.1 

1.4 

2.2 

2.4 

2.7 

3.7 

4.2 

3.4 

3.3 

2.3 

4.7 

1.3 

2.1 

2.0 

2.6 

3.4 

3.1 

3.2 

3.3 

2.5 

4.4 

1.6 

1.7 

1.9 

2.5 

3.4 

3.1 

3.3 

3.1 

2.3 

4.7 

2.2 

1.4 

1.8 

2.6 

3.8 

3.5 

2.9 

  2.4r 

  2.5r 

  2.8r 

  2.5r 

  1.7r 

  1.5r 

  1.7r  

  2.6r  

  2.6r 

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 

3.2 

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 

3.0 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

2.9 

6.2 

0.3 

2.9 

2.9 

2.6 

3.6 

2.8 

4.0 

3.0 

2.7 

2.0 

4.0 

2.7 

3.3 

3.7 

5.8 

4.4 

2.7 

1.0 

3.4 

2.9 

6.7 

1.0 

2.9 

2.9 

2.6 

3.1 

2.4 

3.9 

2.9 

2.7 

1.7 

4.2 

2.7 

3.2 

3.7 

5.5 

3.9 

2.5 

1.1 

3.5 

2.9 

7.8 

0.5 

2.9 

2.9 

2.2 

4.3 

1.9 

1.5 

2.0 

2.4 

3.7 

3.6 

3.0 

3.8 

2.8 

2.6 

2.2 

4.1 

1.9 

0.9 

1.9 

2.3 

3.5 

3.7 

2.7 

3.7 

  2.5p 

  2.3r 

  2.3p 

2.9 

2.9 

3.7 

3.0 

2.7 

2.4 

3.4 

3.1 

2.6 

  2.4p

2.0 

4.0 

2.3 

2.8 

3.3 

5.6 

4.0 

1.9 

1.0 

3.0 

1.8 

3.5 

2.1 

2.3 

2.6 

5.4 

3.6 

2.0 

0.9 

: 

2.7 

  2.6p

7.2 

-0.1 

6.0 

0.2 

2.7 

  2.6p

0.2 

-0.4 

0.3 

-0.4 

-0.8 

-0.4 

-0.9 

-1.2 

-1.0 

-1.1 

-1.1 

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

  Data in focus —6/2012 

3 

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

May 2012 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

00 

2.6 

2.2 

4.1 

1.9 

0.9 

1.9 

2.3 

3.5 

3.7 

2.7 

3.7 

Main categories 

01 

3.2 

2.5 

1.5 

0.7 

1.7 

1.2 

2.9 

2.1 

4.1 

1.8 

5.3 

02 

2.7 

3.6 

6.2 

4.2 

0.4 

6.2 

4.9 

8.0 

4.3 

3.6 

4.3 

03 

1.1 

2.8 

6.7 

-0.7 

-1.2 

1.3 

2.3 

2.5 

-2.7 

2.5 

-3.9 

04 

4.4 

2.8 

10.5 

5.7 

5.5 

5.0 

3.2 

7.5 

11.6 

4.1 

0.1 

05 

2.0 

1.1 

3.8 

-2.6 

-0.6 

0.7 

1.9 

2.2 

0.4 

2.2 

1.9 

06 

0.9 

2.3 

-0.6 

0.6 

-1.8 

-2.9 

1.3 

6.1 

0.7 

0.0 

1.5 

07 

1.9 

2.5 

4.1 

4.5 

1.0 

4.4 

2.9 

6.9 

4.6 

2.8 

5.6 

08 

-1.1 

-1.4 

-7.6 

-0.9 

-1.0 

-3.8 

-8.4 

-2.4 

1.2 

-0.4 

-7.3 

09 

2.2 

3.1 

1.1 

-1.8 

-1.2 

0.4 

0.4 

0.6 

0.1 

1.5 

-0.4 

10 

3.0 

-5.3 

6.1 

9.4 

-1.0 

2.9 

2.9 

1.9 

2.9 

2.1 

3.8 

11 

3.0 

2.2 

5.2 

0.1 

2.4 

0.9 

2.9 

1.5 

3.6 

3.2 

10.4 

12 

3.3 

-0.5 

4.2 

2.4 

0.9 

1.6 

3.0 

2.6 

1.8 

3.1 

2.0 

Netherlands 

   2.5p 

   1.3p 

   3.1p 

   1.4p 

   3.4p 

   0.8p 

  11.7p 

   2.7p 

   0.7p 

   1.6p 

   2.3p 

   2.0p 

   3.0p 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

   2.3p 

   2.4p 

   2.6p 

   1.2p 

   3.6p 

   2.9p 

   1.4p 

   2.7p 

  -4.9p 

   0.6p 

   4.6p 

   3.1p 

   2.8p 

2.7 

2.4 

3.4 

3.1 

2.6 

2.6 

2.3 

5.1 

4.9 

5.1 

3.1 

7.9 

-5.5 

10.0 

-0.2 

3.2 

1.9 

4.1 

3.3 

5.1 

3.0 

0.1 

0.9 

2.0 

0.7 

0.9 

6.1 

0.6 

3.0 

4.0 

7.0 

3.3 

-0.1 

-3.6 

-0.2 

-6.2 

0.0 

0.5 

1.3 

-0.5 

1.6 

1.8 

5.7 

0.8 

4.0 

2.7 

3.3 

3.7 

1.4 

1.4 

3.6 

5.8 

Euro area 

   2.4p 

   2.3p 

   4.7p 

   1.9p 

   4.0p 

   1.4p 

   2.1p 

   3.7p 

  -3.3p 

   1.3p 

   0.7p 

   2.0p 

   1.8p 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United 
Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

1.8 

3.5 

2.1 

2.3 

2.6 

5.4 

3.6 

2.0 

0.9 

: 

1.7 

6.4 

3.9 

1.1 

1.0 

4.5 

2.4 

-1.9 

1.3 

: 

0.1 

1.3 

8.6 

6.0 

2.9 

15.0 

5.5 

4.0 

5.3 

: 

0.5 

-2.4 

1.8 

-1.7 

-1.6 

2.0 

-4.4 

1.6 

0.3 

4.4 

8.6 

2.3 

6.6 

7.4 

6.3 

5.6 

5.6 

-0.3 

: 

: 

-0.4 

-1.2 

0.1 

-1.3 

0.8 

3.4 

2.1 

1.2 

0.4 

: 

9.0 

9.1 

0.0 

0.8 

2.1 

2.9 

3.8 

1.0 

2.8 

: 

3.2 

3.4 

0.6 

3.1 

4.9 

6.5 

7.1 

6.4 

1.9 

: 

-1.1 

-1.5 

-2.3 

-0.9 

-0.9 

3.6 

2.9 

7.5 

-4.8 

0.3 

-0.7 

0.2 

1.1 

1.5 

0.3 

1.3 

-0.6 

-0.9 

: 

: 

6.5 

2.2 

3.9 

-1.8 

2.0 

1.0 

3.2 

2.9 

1.8 

: 

1.9 

3.1 

4.1 

4.4 

4.0 

4.2 

2.8 

1.5 

0.3 

: 

2.3 

2.2 

4.4 

1.7 

3.2 

6.9 

4.4 

2.4 

2.2 

: 

   2.6p 

   2.3p 

   4.9p 

   1.6p 

   4.4p 

   1.7p 

   2.5p 

   3.6p 

  -1.6p 

   0.9p 

   1.9p 

   2.3p 

   2.3p 

6.0 

0.2 

6.6 

1.9 

4.9 

3.5 

3.4 

-1.3 

6.7 

-9.0 

4.1 

0.6 

4.1 

3.1 

7.0 

1.8 

5.0 

-5.7 

5.2 

0.3 

2.5 

3.9 

6.9 

2.7 

5.6 

2.9 

   2.6p 

   2.3p 

   4.9p 

   1.5p 

   4.3p 

   1.7p 

   2.5p 

   3.6p 

  -1.6p 

   0.9p 

   1.9p 

   2.3p 

   2.3p 

Switzerland 

-1.1 

-1.3 

1.2 

-6.2 

0.7 

-2.4 

-0.3 

-3.5 

0.6 

-5.8 

1.6 

0.6 

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 

6/2012 — 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 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

Apr 

May 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

114.37  114.62  112.26  112.52  114.10  114.36  114.17  114.44  118.44  118.30 

154.58  151.22 

121.67  121.87 

110.1 

110.1 

108.5 

108.4 

109.7 

109.6 

109.9 

109.9 

113.3 

113.0 

142.0 

140.1 

117.8 

117.5 

132.34  133.06  123.58  124.47  131.76  132.63  131.89  132.78  137.06  137.37 

187.41  184.35 

151.05  151.36 

104.6 

104.6 

103.4 

103.3 

105.1 

105.1 

104.8 

104.8 

107.4 

107.4 

153.7 

153.4 

108.9 

109.3 

118.93  118.75  116.89  116.51  118.86  118.56  118.76  118.47  122.94  122.49 

192.43  187.61 

125.51  126.01 

115.23  115.26  113.06  113.11  115.15  115.24  115.23  115.32  118.67  118.38 

160.48  157.44 

121.41  121.41 

111.59  111.78  110.47  110.55  111.13  111.21  111.39  111.49  113.75  113.69 

139.92  137.12 

115.64  116.23 

115.9 

115.9 

114.8 

114.7 

115.9 

115.9 

115.9 

115.9 

117.9 

117.9 

146.6 

146.2 

119.7 

120.1 

114.54  115.57  110.19  111.46  112.02  113.20  112.70  113.93  119.94  120.84 

176.87  175.55 

130.16  130.12 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

117.78  117.93  115.07  115.14  117.91  118.07  117.89  118.06  119.35  119.08 

146.41  143.10 

125.24  125.67 

Malta 

116.51r  118.02  112.20r  113.87  114.49r  115.97  115.11r  116.56  119.38r  120.85 

174.02  173.97 

131.40  132.21 

Netherlands 

111.88  111.79p  110.58  110.46p  111.65  111.57p 111.61  111.55p 113.21  112.91p  130.64  128.91p  117.56  117.60p

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

114.41r  114.46p  113.20r  113.22p  114.21r  114.29p 114.33r  114.42p 116.35r  116.20p  139.96r  137.48p  120.54  120.69p

111.89  111.79  110.92  110.79  112.48  112.35  112.23  112.12  115.37  115.00 

150.92  148.49 

115.03  115.05 

116.46  117.24  110.34  110.95  115.22  115.74  115.59  116.06  120.79  121.14 

160.26  157.26 

135.68  137.01 

117.22  117.45  113.86  113.95  117.21  117.27  116.48  116.57  119.88  120.00 

138.53  138.12 

126.32  126.90 

115.09  115.20  112.06  112.20  114.66  114.92  114.92  115.21  117.38  117.18 

151.43  148.95 

125.35  125.36 

Euro area 

112.89  112.93p  111.29  111.28p  112.60  112.61p 112.74  112.77p 115.56  115.38p  146.60  144.55p  118.89  119.08p

Bulgaria 

142.96  143.34  132.62  132.90  144.47  144.69  143.81  144.05  139.63  139.47 

150.31  146.81 

166.87  167.48 

Czech Republic 

115.3 

115.6 

108.7 

108.8 

115.3 

115.5 

115.1 

115.2 

118.0 

118.2 

154.8 

154.4 

130.4 

131.4 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

114.5 

114.7 

111.4 

111.5 

114.4 

114.6 

114.3 

114.5 

116.1 

116.0 

134.7 

132.9 

126.1 

126.8 

138.98  139.36  121.36  121.73  137.29  137.61  137.72  138.03  143.41  143.43 

216.16  213.32 

175.46  175.84 

130.41  130.57  115.15  115.62  127.60  127.91  129.37  129.68  136.09  136.18 

194.28  194.13 

157.58  157.16 

136.02  136.38  124.83  124.89  133.40  133.35  134.06  134.02  142.02  141.85 

189.23  186.04 

161.91  163.01 

119.8 

120.1 

112.5 

112.5 

118.8 

118.8 

119.4 

119.4 

122.6 

122.8 

158.5 

158.3 

135.2 

136.1 

142.18  142.51  133.74  134.24  146.73  146.79  143.30  143.38  139.40  139.81 

168.11  169.19 

150.60  150.66 

111.38  111.64  108.98  109.20  111.11  111.31  111.24  111.45  112.77  112.72 

132.34  129.68 

120.29  120.70 

United Kingdom 

118.2 

: 

114.6 

: 

117.3 

: 

117.6 

: 

121.4 

: 

179.0 

: 

138.1 

: 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

114.98r  115.11p  112.27r  112.35p  114.52  114.61p 114.72r  114.82p 117.68  117.61p  152.14r  150.28p  124.95r  125.25p

164.27  165.71  163.39  165.17  164.69  166.29  163.85  165.34  169.00  169.86 

222.44  216.46 

167.52  167.53 

111.8 

112.2 

110.6 

110.8 

112.6 

112.8 

112.0 

112.3 

113.5 

113.6 

130.0 

124.6 

116.6 

118.0 

114.98  115.11p  112.28r  112.37p  114.53  114.62p 114.73  114.83p 117.67  117.60p  152.08r  150.19p  124.89r  125.21p

Switzerland 

102.4 

102.2 

102.8 

102.4 

102.7 

102.5 

102.6 

102.4 

103.8 

103.5 

126.1 

124.9 

99.9 

100.7 

Source: Eurostat (online data code: prc_hicp_midx) 

  Data in focus —6/2012 

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.  Malta’s National Statistics Office has revised the indices for 'Passenger transport by road' for the period between 
July 2011 and March 2012, which has resulted in revisions for Maltese aggregated indices as well as a revision 
to the EA total for October 2011. 

4.  Data for the United Kingdom for May 2012 were not available in time for publication. Due to this fact, MUICP, 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 

6 

6/2012— 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: 20.06.2012 
Data extracted on: 14.06.2012 
ISSN 1977-0340 
Catalogue number: KS-QA-12-006-EN-N 
© European Union, 2012