Annual inflation up to 2.6% in the euro area
Overview
The euro area annual inflation rate was 2.6% in March 2026, up from 1.9% in February. A year earlier, the rate was 2.2%. European Union annual inflation was 2.8% in March 2026, up from 2.1% in February. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5%. These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
The lowest annual rates were registered in Denmark (1.0%), Czechia, Cyprus and Sweden (all 1.5%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (9.0%), Croatia (4.6%) and Lithuania (4.4%). Compared with February 2026, annual inflation fell in three Member States, remained stable in one and rose in twenty-three.
In March 2026, services (+1.49 percentage points, pp), energy (+0.48 percentage points, pp), food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.45 percentage points, pp) and non-energy industrial goods (+0.13 percentage points, pp) contributed positively to the annual euro area inflation rate.
Inflation rates (%) measured by the HICP |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Annual rate |
Monthly rate |
|||||||
Mar 25 |
Oct 25 |
Nov 25 |
Dec 25 |
Jan 26 |
Feb 26 |
Mar 26 |
Mar 26 |
|
Euro area |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
1.9 |
2.6 |
1.3 |
EU |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
2.8 |
1.1 |
Belgium |
3.6 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
2.2 |
1.4 |
1.4 |
2.2 |
0.3 |
Bulgaria |
4.0 |
3.8 |
3.7 |
3.5 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
2.8 |
1.0 |
Czechia |
2.6 |
2.3 |
1.8 |
1.7 |
1.2 |
1.0 |
1.5 |
0.6 |
Denmark |
1.4 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.9 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
Germany |
2.3 |
2.3 |
2.5 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
2.8 |
1.2 |
Estonia |
4.3 |
4.5 |
4.7 |
4.0 |
3.8 |
3.2 |
3.5 |
0.0 |
Ireland |
1.8 |
2.8 |
3.1 |
2.7 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
3.6 |
1.8 |
Greece |
3.1 |
1.6 |
2.8 |
2.9 |
2.9 |
3.1 |
3.4 |
2.1 |
Spain |
2.2 |
3.2 |
3.2 |
3.0 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
3.4 |
1.7 |
France |
0.9 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.7 |
0.4 |
1.1 |
2.0 |
1.1 |
Croatia |
4.3 |
4.0 |
4.3 |
3.8 |
3.6 |
3.9 |
4.6 |
1.2 |
Italy |
2.1 |
1.3 |
1.1 |
1.2 |
1.0 |
1.5 |
1.6 |
1.7 |
Cyprus |
2.1 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
1.2 |
0.9 |
1.5 |
1.1 |
Latvia |
3.5 |
4.3 |
3.8 |
3.4 |
2.9 |
2.4 |
3.4 |
1.9 |
Lithuania |
3.7 |
3.7 |
3.6 |
3.2 |
2.8 |
3.3 |
4.4 |
1.5 |
Luxembourg |
1.6 |
3.0 |
3.5 |
3.3 |
1.6 |
1.8 |
3.8 |
1.8 |
Hungary |
4.8 |
4.2 |
3.7 |
3.3 |
2.3 |
1.6 |
2.1 |
0.5 |
Malta |
2.2 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
1.2 |
Netherlands |
3.4 |
3.0 |
2.6 |
2.7 |
2.2 |
2.3 |
2.6 |
0.8 |
Austria |
3.1 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
3.8 |
2.1 |
2.3 |
3.1 |
1.1 |
Poland |
4.4 |
2.8 |
2.6 |
2.6 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
3.2 |
0.9 |
Portugal |
1.9 |
2.0 |
2.1 |
2.4 |
1.9 |
2.1 |
2.7 |
2.3 |
Romania |
5.1 |
8.4 |
8.6 |
8.6 |
8.5 |
8.3 |
9.0 |
0.9 |
Slovenia |
2.2 |
3.1 |
2.4 |
2.6 |
2.4 |
2.8 |
2.4 |
0.4 |
Slovakia |
4.2 |
3.9 |
3.9 |
4.1 |
4.3 |
4.0 |
3.7 |
0.0 |
Finland |
1.8 |
1.4 |
1.5 |
1.7 |
1.0 |
1.8 |
2.5 |
0.8 |
Sweden |
2.1 |
3.1 |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
1.5 |
-0.7 |
Iceland |
3.4 |
3.9 |
3.4 |
4.0 |
4.4 |
4.7 |
5.0 |
0.8 |
Norway |
2.3 |
2.9 |
2.7 |
3.0 |
3.5 |
2.6 |
3.6 |
0.2 |
Switzerland |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
0.6 |
0.1 |
Source dataset: prc_hicp_minr
|
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Tables
Euro area inflation rate (%), selected aggregates |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weights (‰) |
Annual rate |
Monthly rate |
|||||||
2026 |
Mar 25 |
Oct 25 |
Nov 25 |
Dec 25 |
Jan 26 |
Feb 26 |
Mar 26 |
Mar 26 |
|
All-items HICP |
1000.0 |
2.2 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.7 |
1.9 |
2.6 |
1.3 |
All-items excluding: energy |
909.5 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
0.7 |
energy, unprocessed food |
858.0 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.2 |
2.3 |
2.2 |
0.7 |
energy, food, alcohol & tobacco |
719.8 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.2 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
0.8 |
energy, seasonal food |
884.0 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
0.7 |
tobacco |
979.7 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
1.6 |
1.8 |
2.5 |
1.3 |
Food, alcohol & tobacco |
189.8 |
2.9 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
2.6 |
2.5 |
2.4 |
0.1 |
processed food, alcohol & tobacco |
138.3 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
2.3 |
2.1 |
2.0 |
1.8 |
1.7 |
0.1 |
unprocessed food |
51.5 |
3.6 |
2.7 |
2.7 |
3.5 |
4.2 |
4.6 |
4.2 |
0.2 |
Energy |
90.5 |
-1.0 |
-0.9 |
-0.5 |
-1.9 |
-4.0 |
-3.1 |
5.1 |
7.0 |
Non-energy industrial goods |
252.8 |
0.6 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.4 |
0.7 |
0.5 |
1.8 |
Services |
466.9 |
3.4 |
3.4 |
3.5 |
3.4 |
3.2 |
3.4 |
3.2 |
0.3 |
Source dataset: prc_hicp_minr and prc_hicp_iw
|
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Contributions to the euro area annual inflation rate (pp), selected aggregates |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar 25 |
Oct 25 |
Nov 25 |
Dec 25 |
Jan 26 |
Feb 26 |
Mar 26 |
|
Food, alcohol & tobacco |
0.57 |
0.48 |
0.46 |
0.48 |
0.51 |
0.48 |
0.45 |
processed food, alcohol & tobacco |
0.38 |
0.34 |
0.33 |
0.30 |
0.29 |
0.25 |
0.23 |
unprocessed food |
0.19 |
0.14 |
0.14 |
0.18 |
0.22 |
0.24 |
0.22 |
Energy |
-0.10 |
-0.08 |
-0.04 |
-0.18 |
-0.39 |
-0.30 |
0.48 |
Non-energy industrial goods |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.13 |
0.09 |
0.09 |
0.17 |
0.13 |
Services |
1.56 |
1.55 |
1.59 |
1.57 |
1.46 |
1.54 |
1.49 |
Source dataset: prc_hicp_ctr
|
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Notes for users
Revisions and timetable
A flash estimate of euro area inflation is issued at the end of each reference month. The euro area flash estimate for March 2026, published on 31 March 2026, was 2.5%.
The next flash estimate of euro area inflation with data for April 2026 is scheduled for 30 April 2026.
Methods and definitions
Annual inflation is the price change of consumer goods and services between the current month and the same month of the previous year. Monthly inflation is the price change between the current month and the previous month.
A contribution shows how much of the annual inflation rate comes from a particular component of the HICP. The contributions are calculated according to a method which ensures their additivity (allowing for rounding).
Geographical information
The euro area (EA21) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The European Union (EU27) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
The euro area and European Union data refer to the respective country compositions at a specific point in time. Changes in the composition of these aggregates are incorporated using a chain index formula.
For more information
Get in touch
Further information on data
E-mail: estat-hicp@ec.europa.eu