Harmonised indices of consumer prices. October 2012.
Date: 2012-11-19
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, consumer price, economic statistics, price index

Economy and finance 

Author:  Svetoslava PAVLOVA 

D a t a   i n   f o c u s  
13/2012 

HARMONISED INDICES OF CONSUMER PRICES  
OCTOBER 2012 

EURO AREA1)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.5% IN OCTOBER 2012, 
DOWN FROM 2.6% IN SEPTEMBER 

EU2)

 ANNUAL INFLATION WAS 2.6% IN OCTOBER 2012, 

DOWN FROM 2.7% IN SEPTEMBER 

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

Euro area

US CPI

EU

JP CPI

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

-1.0

10/11

11/11

12/11

01/12

02/12

03/12

04/12

05/12

06/12

07/12

08/12

09/12

10/12

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

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

2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 3.0 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.9 4.2

6.0

5.0

7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0

0.9 1.2 1.6

* Data for Austria are provisional. 

Source: Eurostat (online data code: prc_hicp_manr) 

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

Annual   
average 
index 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan 

Feb 

Mar 

Apr 

May 

Jun 

Jul 

Aug 

Sep 

Oct 

Monthly Indices 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

115.27 

116.66  116.79  115.48  118.16  118.38  118.51  118.42  118.24  116.47  118.96  119.03  119.30 

111.1 

111.7 

112.5 

111.9 

112.9 

113.4 

113.5 

113.3 

113.1 

113.5 

113.9 

113.9 

114.0 

133.40 

135.07  135.26  136.01  136.58  137.99  138.60  138.89  139.09  139.51  139.96  140.56  140.67 

106.6 

121.35 

116.35 

111.28 

113.8 

115.93 

117.32 

115.19 

110.23 

107.1 

107.0 

106.6 

107.8 

108.9 

108.9 

108.9 

108.7 

108.6 

109.5 

109.4 

109.3 

123.19  122.98  121.64  119.56  123.02  124.03  123.60  123.36  121.60  120.17  123.18  124.09 

117.72  117.75  115.79  115.83  118.38  119.67  119.42  119.13  118.11  118.72  121.01  121.56 

112.19  112.69  112.24  112.77  113.82  114.02  113.96  114.02  113.43  114.24  113.95  114.19 

115.9 

116.3 

114.2 

114.4 

117.3 

118.3 

118.3 

118.5 

116.5 

116.5 

118.9 

119.2 

117.94  117.82  116.20  116.69  118.36  120.10  120.97  120.85  119.67  120.70  120.63  120.88 

118.65  118.58  117.95  119.82  120.38  120.91  120.71  120.51  119.52  121.36  121.99  122.06 

114.08  114.42  113.17  113.90  115.57  119.48  120.92  122.24  121.92  122.12  121.29  120.49 

110.83  110.48  110.61  111.72  113.26  113.81  113.55  112.87  113.35  113.43  113.98  114.90 

113.42 

114.43  114.70  114.07  114.68  116.10  116.43  116.19  116.18  115.59  116.01  117.32r  117.68p

112.72 

118.03 

116.79 

114.16 

113.93  114.00  114.39  114.55  115.94  116.33  115.97  115.77  115.98  115.92  116.37  116.54 

119.44  118.84  118.49  119.18  120.38  121.82  122.16  121.40  120.38  121.31  122.71  123.04 

118.02  118.08  119.90  120.17  120.55  120.84  120.96  121.24  121.18  121.23  121.57  122.06 

115.04  114.99  115.93  116.80  117.37  117.64  117.58  117.71  117.40  117.82  118.52  118.81 

112.83 

113.98  114.35  113.43  113.99  115.47  116.01  115.85  115.76  115.14  115.59  116.44  116.71p

141.21 

141.78  142.15  142.65  143.50  143.70  144.03  143.87  143.13  144.77  145.57  146.07  145.98 

116.2 

113.8 

143.73 

133.90 

134.79 

117.0 

117.5 

119.6 

119.8 

120.2 

120.2 

120.4 

120.6 

120.4 

120.4 

120.3 

120.7 

114.3 

114.3 

114.8 

115.9 

116.6 

116.6 

116.6 

116.4 

116.3 

116.8 

117.1 

117.0 

144.57  144.60  145.76  146.00  146.83  147.85  147.88  147.89  147.29  146.74  147.27  146.98 

135.25  135.04  135.55  136.03  137.35  138.21  138.34  138.28  138.34  138.58  139.60  139.33 

136.21  136.55  139.77  140.56  141.68  142.81  142.71  142.71  142.47  142.64  143.28  143.52 

120.1 

121.6 

122.2 

123.0 

123.5 

124.1 

124.8 

125.0 

125.3 

124.7 

124.4 

124.5 

124.8 

143.04 

112.31 

119.6 

143.86  144.20  144.79  145.76  146.42  146.52  146.93  146.85  147.54  148.35  150.00  150.36 

112.80  112.77  112.10  112.93  113.44  113.73  113.69  113.33  112.82  112.96  113.79  113.91 

121.2 

121.7 

121.1 

121.8 

122.2 

122.9 

122.8 

122.3 

122.5 

123.1 

123.5 

124.2 

115.24 

116.43  116.83  116.18  116.78  117.98  118.54  118.43  118.30  117.84  118.27  119.00  119.33p

159.22 

161.57  162.56  162.02  165.03  168.22  169.10  169.95  171.89  169.08  167.88  169.93  170.27 

113.1 

113.1 

113.2 

112.7 

114.1 

114.0 

114.0 

114.0 

113.3 

112.7 

112.1 

113.4 

114.0 

115.25 

116.43  116.83  116.17  116.78  117.97  118.52  118.42  118.28  117.82  118.23  118.98r 119.31p 

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 

EEA3) 

Switzerland 

104.2 

103.3 

103.6 

102.9 

103.0 

103.9 

103.9 

103.7 

103.5 

103.2 

102.9 

103.6 

103.7 

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

2 

13/2012 — Data in focus  

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

12-month  
average rates 

Annual rates 

Dec  Oct 

Oct 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan 

Feb  Mar 

Apr  May 

Jun 

Jul 

Aug 

Sep 

Oct 

2011 

2012 

2011 

2011 

2011 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

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 

2.5 

2.5 

3.6 

3.6 

2.1 

4.1 

3.3 

2.8 

2.2 

4.3 

1.9 

1.4 

2.4 

2.4 

3.5 

3.5 

3.1 

3.0 

2.7 

  2.7p 

3.1 

2.7 

3.9 

3.1 

3.4 

2.9 

4.7 

1.5 

2.9 

3.0 

2.5 

3.8 

3.2 

3.8 

2.5 

2.8 

3.8 

4.0 

2.9 

4.6 

3.2 

Euro area 

2.7 

  2.6p 

3.0 

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 

2.3 

3.6 

2.4 

2.7 

3.3 

5.5 

4.0 

3.2 

0.9 

3.1 

3.0 

2.6 

2.7 

4.3 

4.2 

3.8 

3.8 

3.6 

1.1 

5.0 

3.1 

  2.8p 

3.4 

4.2 

1.2 

6.0 

0.3 

5.3 

1.3 

3.1 

  2.8p 

3.3 

3.7 

2.8 

4.4 

1.7 

2.8 

2.9 

2.7 

3.7 

4.0 

4.0 

1.7 

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 

1.5 

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 

1.7 

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 

3.3 

2.5 

4.4 

1.6 

1.7 

1.9 

2.5 

3.4 

3.1 

3.3 

2.6 

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 

3.1 

2.3 

4.7 

2.2 

1.4 

1.8 

2.6 

3.8 

3.5 

2.9 

2.6 

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 

2.3 

2.9 

2.9 

3.7 

3.0 

2.6 

2.0 

4.0 

2.3 

2.8 

3.3 

5.6 

4.0 

1.9 

1.0 

3.0 

2.7 

7.2 

-0.1 

2.7 

2.6 

2.2 

4.1 

1.9 

0.9 

1.9 

2.3 

3.5 

3.7 

2.7 

3.7 

2.5 

2.2 

2.7 

2.4 

3.4 

3.1 

2.4 

1.8 

3.5 

2.1 

2.3 

2.6 

5.4 

3.6 

2.0 

0.9 

2.8 

2.5 

6.0 

0.2 

2.5 

2.2 

2.0 

4.4 

1.9 

1.0 

1.8 

2.3 

3.6 

2.9 

2.6 

4.4 

2.5 

2.2 

2.7 

2.4 

3.7 

2.9 

2.4 

1.6 

3.8 

2.2 

2.1 

2.6 

5.6 

4.2 

2.2 

0.9 

2.4 

2.5 

6.9 

0.0 

2.5 

2.0 

1.9 

4.1 

2.0 

0.9 

2.2 

2.2 

3.6 

3.8 

2.7 

4.2 

2.6 

2.1 

2.8 

2.6 

3.8 

3.1 

2.4 

2.4 

3.3 

2.1 

1.9 

2.9 

5.7 

4.0 

3.1 

0.7 

2.6 

2.5 

5.4 

-0.2 

2.6 

2.2 

4.2 

2.6 

1.2 

2.7 

2.4 

3.3 

4.5 

2.8 

3.2 

2.5 

2.3 

3.2 

3.1 

3.8 

3.3 

2.6 

3.1 

3.4 

2.6 

1.9 

3.4 

6.0 

3.8 

4.0 

0.9 

2.5 

2.7 

4.5 

0.0 

2.6 

2.1 

4.1 

2.4 

0.3 

3.5 

2.2 

3.4 

3.6 

3.2 

2.9 

2.5 

2.8 

2.9 

3.7 

3.8 

3.4 

2.6 

2.1 

4.2 

2.1 

0.9 

3.5 

2.1 

2.8 

2.6 

3.2 

3.2 

3.3 

  2.9p 

2.1 

3.2 

3.9 

3.5 

2.6 

  2.5p

3.4 

3.5 

2.5 

1.9 

3.3 

6.4 

3.8 

5.4 

1.0 

2.2 

3.0 

3.6 

2.3 

1.6 

3.2 

6.0 

3.4 

5.0 

1.2 

2.7 

2.7 

  2.6p

5.3 

0.1 

5.1 

0.8 

2.5 

2.7 

  2.7r 

  2.6p 

Switzerland 

0.1 

 -0.8 

-0.4 

-0.8 

-0.4 

-0.9 

-1.2 

-1.0 

-1.1 

-1.1 

-1.2 

-0.8 

-0.5 

 -0.3 

-0.1 

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

  Data in focus — 13/2012 

3 

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

Oct 2012 

Main categories 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

Malta 

Netherlands 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

00 

2.6 

2.1 

4.2 

2.1 

0.9 

3.5 

2.1 

2.8 

2.6 

3.2 

3.2 

3.3 

01 

4.2 

3.1 

6.0 

1.0 

1.0 

2.5 

2.8 

2.7 

2.9 

3.3 

5.4 

2.5 

02 

4.2 

2.3 

5.2 

3.4 

-1.4 

5.5 

7.2 

2.7 

2.1 

3.4 

4.7 

3.8 

03 

1.0 

2.1 

6.1 

1.0 

2.0 

0.4 

1.6 

1.4 

-5.8 

2.6 

1.3 

-1.2 

04 

2.5 

2.7 

6.9 

4.7 

11.5 

6.1 

3.5 

6.8 

6.9 

4.0 

0.6 

3.3 

05 

1.5 

1.0 

2.1 

-2.7 

-2.7 

1.3 

1.5 

1.3 

-0.7 

2.4 

3.7 

1.9 

06 

0.7 

2.2 

-1.5 

0.4 

-1.7 

10.5 

0.9 

1.5 

0.1 

0.8 

2.0 

13.1 

07 

3.1 

2.7 

4.8 

5.4 

2.2 

6.9 

2.4 

6.1 

5.7 

4.4 

4.5 

6.6 

08 

-0.1 

-1.0 

-5.3 

-3.4 

-1.9 

-1.7 

-11.5 

-2.7 

1.4 

-0.3 

-4.5 

0.8 

09 

1.7 

1.6 

1.2 

-1.1 

-2.5 

2.0 

0.0 

0.0 

0.3 

1.8 

1.9 

2.1 

10 

0.5 

0.0 

5.7 

6.7 

-3.5 

10.4 

2.2 

3.1 

0.8 

1.4 

1.7 

3.1 

11 

2.9 

1.5 

3.3 

1.0 

12 

3.0 

0.3 

1.8 

3.3 

-0.2 

-1.2 

1.0 

3.0 

1.0 

3.7 

2.7 

4.0 

2.1 

3.9 

2.8 

1.7 

-0.2 

3.4 

1.5 

3.2 

   2.9p 

   3.3p 

   2.4p 

   2.2p 

   3.4p 

   2.6p 

   2.2p 

   3.7p 

   1.0p 

   2.3p 

   3.6p 

   2.9p 

   2.8p 

2.1 

3.2 

3.9 

3.5 

3.2 

4.6 

5.9 

6.3 

5.2 

10.2 

4.2 

7.4 

-5.8 

-1.7 

1.7 

1.2 

4.9 

3.1 

3.3 

3.5 

-0.6 

-0.7 

0.1 

1.6 

-2.2 

-0.3 

5.9 

0.2 

3.2 

5.7 

7.6 

5.1 

0.7 

-1.6 

0.8 

-7.7 

2.2 

-0.3 

2.3 

0.4 

1.3 

3.7 

6.0 

3.5 

4.2 

5.0 

3.5 

4.5 

0.6 

2.4 

3.9 

5.7 

Euro area 

   2.5p 

   2.9p 

   4.0p 

   1.2p 

   4.0p 

   1.2p 

   2.4p 

   4.1p 

  -3.5p 

   1.0p 

   3.0p 

   1.7p 

   2.0p 

Bulgaria 

Czech Republic 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

United Kingdom 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

3.0 

3.6 

2.3 

1.6 

3.2 

6.0 

3.4 

5.0 

1.2 

2.7 

4.9 

7.1 

3.2 

2.4 

3.0 

8.0 

4.7 

6.8 

1.8 

3.4 

0.5 

4.1 

8.7 

0.6 

4.7 

17.6 

4.2 

4.2 

4.6 

6.5 

-0.8 

-3.1 

0.9 

-3.2 

4.1 

1.8 

-4.5 

1.8 

-1.6 

-0.1 

9.7 

6.5 

2.3 

5.7 

3.1 

5.0 

4.5 

5.7 

1.1 

1.7 

0.9 

-1.5 

1.8 

-2.0 

2.4 

3.4 

2.1 

1.1 

-1.5 

1.7 

0.8 

9.5 

0.5 

0.8 

2.6 

3.1 

3.3 

1.3 

3.0 

2.5 

4.6 

2.9 

1.8 

2.1 

4.4 

4.6 

5.3 

5.7 

2.4 

3.1 

-1.2 

-3.2 

-5.9 

-5.6 

-2.1 

6.1 

-0.2 

5.2 

-1.5 

3.7 

-2.7 

0.3 

0.5 

0.6 

1.9 

2.2 

0.5 

1.7 

0.4 

0.8 

6.0 

1.5 

2.7 

-0.9 

5.9 

3.6 

2.2 

3.4 

1.6 

19.7 

3.1 

3.1 

4.1 

1.5 

3.1 

4.5 

2.7 

4.0 

0.4 

2.9 

1.6 

2.3 

3.8 

0.9 

3.5 

6.1 

4.0 

3.4 

2.5 

1.9 

   2.6p 

   3.3p 

   4.7p 

   0.7p 

   3.7p 

   1.2p 

   2.5p 

   4.0p 

  -1.8p 

   0.9p 

   7.1p 

   2.0p 

   2.2p 

5.1 

0.8 

5.5 

0.4 

4.2 

3.0 

3.5 

-3.6 

5.9 

-1.8 

3.8 

0.6 

3.0 

2.7 

7.7 

3.6 

6.1 

-6.7 

1.8 

0.7 

12.4 

8.0 

4.9 

3.0 

3.6 

2.5 

   2.6p 

   3.3p 

   4.7p 

   0.7p 

   3.7p 

   1.2p 

   2.5p 

   4.0p 

  -1.9p 

   0.9p 

   7.1p 

   2.0p 

   2.2p 

Switzerland 

-0.1 

0.6 

1.3 

-4.0 

1.1 

-1.3 

-0.4 

-1.0 

-2.1 

-1.2 

2.1 

0.4 

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 

13/2012 — 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 

Sep 

Oct 

Sep 

Oct 

Sep 

Oct 

Sep 

Oct 

Sep 

Oct 

Sep 

Oct 

Sep 

Oct 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

2012 

115.05  115.47  112.86  113.03  114.90  115.10  115.01  115.24  118.87  119.13 

153.59  152.39 

122.64  123.88 

110.3 

110.5 

108.8 

108.9 

110.0 

110.1 

110.3 

110.4 

113.7 

113.7 

144.0 

142.6 

117.3 

117.8 

133.94  134.28  125.43  125.48  133.08  133.14  133.39  133.59  139.08  139.19 

192.27  190.53 

152.06  153.06 

104.9 

104.7 

103.6 

103.3 

105.3 

105.0 

105.1 

104.8 

107.9 

107.8 

156.0 

157.2 

109.5 

109.7 

118.07  118.31  115.93  116.25  118.11  118.36  118.08  118.37  121.99  122.93 

191.79  204.26 

125.01  124.96 

116.06  116.97  113.74  114.83  115.87  116.90  116.04  117.04  119.97  120.54 

166.77  163.79 

122.75  123.08 

111.60  111.86  110.46  110.31  111.17  111.25  111.47  111.59  113.68  113.75 

138.98  138.96 

115.74  117.45 

116.3 

116.6 

115.1 

115.4 

116.3 

116.6 

116.4 

116.6 

118.5 

118.8 

149.4 

149.1 

120.4 

120.8 

115.10  115.41  110.41  110.87  112.22  112.70  113.09  113.56  120.48  120.74 

176.88  176.23 

132.13  131.84 

Belgium 

Germany 

Estonia 

Ireland 

Greece 

Spain 

France 

Italy 

Cyprus 

Luxembourg 

118.76  119.06  115.85  116.13  118.86  119.10  118.87  119.14  120.32  120.39 

148.32  146.38 

126.91  127.28 

Malta 

118.40  117.55  114.09  112.48  116.38  115.08  117.06  115.86  121.23  120.42 

174.37  174.52 

133.22  135.75 

Netherlands 

111.92  112.83  110.60  111.44  111.74  112.58  111.73  112.58  113.32  114.24 

131.91  132.93 

117.69  118.88 

Austria 

Portugal 

Slovenia 

Slovakia 

Finland 

115.24r  115.71p  114.00r  114.47p  114.99r  115.42p 115.17r  115.64p 117.26r  117.63p  141.55  140.69p  121.50  121.95p

111.84  112.16  110.49  110.69  112.20  112.41  112.06  112.29  115.38  115.55 

151.69  150.63 

116.22  116.95 

116.76  117.52  110.39  110.70  115.59  116.21  115.96  116.70  121.54  121.55 

165.64  162.75 

136.81  139.05 

118.07  118.69  114.83  115.21  117.95  118.45  117.51  118.15  120.62  121.04 

138.66  138.47 

126.85  128.10 

115.96  116.34  112.85  113.16  115.54  115.74  115.94  116.13  118.12  118.42 

152.30  151.45 

126.50  127.10 

Euro area 

113.18  113.55p  111.55  111.82p  112.90  113.21p 113.10  113.42p 115.97  116.21p  148.43  147.76p  119.26  120.04p

Bulgaria 

144.03  144.29  132.93  133.15  145.19  145.47  144.85  145.28  141.71  141.61 

158.34  156.07 

169.66  170.01 

Czech Republic 

115.3 

115.8 

108.5 

108.6 

115.3 

115.7 

115.2 

115.7 

118.0 

118.3 

155.4 

155.0 

131.3 

132.7 

Denmark 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

Hungary 

Poland 

Romania 

Sweden 

115.0 

115.0 

111.8 

111.7 

114.9 

114.9 

114.8 

114.7 

116.6 

116.4 

135.3 

134.4 

127.3 

127.5 

137.94  137.87  121.19  120.52  136.83  136.26  137.34  136.88  142.80  142.51 

219.09  217.17 

172.35  173.74 

131.38  131.57  116.74  117.10  128.90  129.14  130.76  130.98  137.27  136.99 

198.74  195.13 

157.35  157.21 

136.88  137.28  125.78  125.91  134.43  134.76  135.29  135.70  142.06  142.22 

187.16  186.33 

162.52  163.57 

119.5 

119.8 

112.6 

112.9 

118.9 

119.2 

119.7 

120.0 

122.3 

122.7 

158.7 

158.8 

133.9 

134.5 

145.20  145.68  135.58  136.42  148.67  149.58  145.39  146.32  142.72  143.07 

175.00  174.39 

155.26  155.19 

111.73  112.02  109.33  109.64  111.49  111.72  111.65  111.88  112.82  112.95 

129.94  128.59 

120.60  120.83 

United Kingdom 

119.0 

119.7 

115.3 

116.1 

118.0 

118.8 

118.4 

119.2 

121.9 

122.6 

177.1 

176.5 

139.3 

139.9 

EU 

Iceland 

Norway 

EEA 

115.36  115.78p  112.62r  112.97p  114.91r  115.29p 115.18  115.57p 118.10r  118.41p  153.39r  152.75p  125.42r  126.14p

165.38  165.71  164.27  164.47  165.72  166.00  164.89  165.18  169.84  170.19 

220.09  220.57 

169.58  170.42 

112.3 

112.2 

110.8 

111.0 

112.8 

112.9 

112.3 

112.4 

113.0 

113.6 

116.5 

124.9 

118.1 

117.3 

115.36  115.78p  112.64  112.99p  114.92r  115.30p 115.18  115.56p 118.08r  118.39p  153.20r  152.65p  125.38r  126.08p

Switzerland 

102.0 

102.1 

102.2 

102.3 

102.2 

102.3 

102.1 

102.2 

103.4 

103.5 

126.5 

126.2 

100.5 

100.7 

Source: Eurostat (online data code: prc_hicp_midx) 

  Data in focus — 13/2012 

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.  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 

Methodology 

r  

revised 

: 

not available 

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 

13/2012 — Data in focus  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Further information 

European Statistical Data Support: 

Contact details for this support network can be found on the Eurostat website at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/. 

Manuscript completed on: 19.11.2012 
Data extracted on: 15.11.2012 
ISSN 1977-0340 
Catalogue number: KS-QA-12-013-EN-N 
© European Union, 2012