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Chart 1. HICP Monthly and Annual Comparison, 16 Countries
Harmonized indexes of consumer prices (HICP) are an internationally comparable measure of consumer price inflation, which covers all households in each country and excludes owner-occupied housing costs. HICP measures conform, insofar as possible, to the conceptual basis of the European Union's Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices. For more information, see the section on Technical Notes.
In July 2012, HICP monthly percent change from the previous year increased in 13 of the 16 countries compared. Italy experienced the highest growth. Norway, Japan and Switzerland had declines.
For 2011, HICP increased in 15 of the 16 countries compared. The United Kingdom had the highest inflation followed by the United States. Japan had the lowest HICP.
In this report data for each country or area are presented as indexes and average annual growth rates from 1998 to 2012.
Chart 2. Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) and Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices (HICP)
Monthly percent change from the previous year, 07/2011–07/2012
Table 2. Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices (HICP), 16 countries and areas, 07/2011–07/2012
Monthly percent change from the previous year
Jul 11
Aug 11
Sep 11
Oct 11
Nov 11
Dec 11
Jan 12
Feb 12
Mar 12
Apr 12
May 12
Jun 12
Jul 12
United States
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.3
4.1
3.5
3.4
3.4
3.0
2.5
1.6
1.7
1.5
Austria
3.8
3.7
3.9
3.8
3.9
3.4
2.9
2.6
2.6
2.3
2.2
2.2
2.1
Belgium
4.0
3.4
3.4
3.4
3.7
3.2
3.3
3.3
3.1
2.9
2.6
2.2
2.0
Denmark
3.0
2.4
2.4
2.7
2.5
2.4
2.8
2.7
2.7
2.3
2.1
2.2
2.1
Euro area(1)
2.6
2.5
3.0
3.0
3.0
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.6
2.4
2.4
2.4
European Union(2)
2.9
3.0
3.3
3.4
3.3
3.0
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.7
2.5
r 2.5
2.5
France
2.1
2.4
2.4
2.5
2.7
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.6
2.4
2.3
2.3
2.2
Germany
2.6
2.5
2.9
2.9
2.8
2.3
2.3
2.5
2.3
2.2
2.2
2.0
1.9
Italy
2.1
2.3
3.6
3.8
3.7
3.7
3.4
3.4
3.8
3.7
3.5
3.6
3.6
Japan
0.3
0.3
0.1
-0.2
-0.6
-0.2
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.6
0.3
-0.1
-0.4
Netherlands
3.2
3.2
3.0
2.8
2.6
2.5
2.9
2.9
2.9
2.8
2.5
2.5
2.6
Norway
1.5
1.3
1.6
1.3
1.2
-0.1
0.3
1.0
0.5
-0.1
0.2
0.0
-0.2
Spain
3.0
2.7
3.0
3.0
2.9
2.4
2.0
1.9
1.8
2.0
1.9
1.8
2.2
Sweden
1.6
1.6
1.5
1.1
1.1
0.4
0.7
1.0
1.1
1.0
0.9
0.9
0.7
Switzerland
0.2
-0.4
0.3
-0.4
-0.8
-0.4
-0.9
-1.2
-1.0
-1.1
-1.1
-1.2
-0.8
United Kingdom
4.5
4.5
5.2
5.0
4.8
4.2
3.6
3.4
3.5
3.0
2.8
2.4
2.6
Notes: (1) Data for the Euro Area refer to the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP). For more information, see Technical Notes. (2) Data for the European Union refer to the European Index of Consumer Prices (EICP). For more information, see Technical Notes.
Table 5. Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices (HICP), 16 countries and areas, 1998–2011
Annual indexes: 2005 = 100
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
United States(1)
84.1
85.8
88.7
90.8
91.6
93.7
96.3
100.0
103.2
105.9
110.6
109.7
112.4
116.8
Austria
89.0
89.4
91.2
93.2
94.8
96.1
97.9
100.0
101.7
103.9
107.3
107.7
109.5
113.4
Belgium
87.3
88.3
90.7
92.9
94.3
95.8
97.5
100.0
102.3
104.2
108.9
108.9
111.4
115.3
Denmark
87.0
88.8
91.2
93.3
95.6
97.5
98.3
100.0
101.8
103.5
107.3
108.4
110.8
113.8
Euro area(2)
86.9
87.8
89.7
91.8
93.9
95.8
97.9
100.0
102.2
104.4
107.8
108.1
109.8
112.8
European Union(3)
87.5
88.5
90.2
92.2
94.1
96.0
97.9
100.0
102.2
104.6
108.4
109.5
111.8
115.2
France
88.3
88.8
90.5
92.1
93.9
95.9
98.1
100.0
101.9
103.5
106.8
106.9
108.8
111.3
Germany
90.5
91.1
92.4
94.1
95.4
96.4
98.1
100.0
101.8
104.1
107.0
107.2
108.4
111.1
Italy
85.0
86.4
88.6
90.7
93.1
95.7
97.8
100.0
102.2
104.3
108.0
108.8
110.6
113.8
Japan
104.1
103.7
102.8
101.8
100.7
100.4
100.4
100.0
100.3
100.4
102.0
100.5
99.7
99.4
Netherlands
83.4
85.1
87.1
91.5
95.0
97.2
98.5
100.0
101.7
103.3
105.5
106.6
107.6
110.2
Norway
88.2
90.0
92.8
95.3
96.1
97.9
98.5
100.0
102.5
103.2
106.7
109.2
111.8
113.1
Spain
80.8
82.6
85.5
87.9
91.0
93.9
96.7
100.0
103.6
106.5
110.9
110.6
112.9
116.3
Sweden
90.0
90.5
91.7
94.1
95.9
98.2
99.2
100.0
101.5
103.2
106.7
108.7
110.8
112.3
Switzerland
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
100.0
101.0
101.8
104.2
103.4
104.1
104.2
United Kingdom
91.1
92.3
93.1
94.2
95.4
96.7
98.0
100.0
102.3
104.7
108.5
110.8
114.5
119.6
Notes: (1) Urban households prior to Dec 2001. (2) Data for the Euro Area refer to the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP). For more information, see Technical Notes. (3) Data for the European Union refer to the European Index of Consumer Prices (EICP). For more information, see Technical Notes. Dashes indicate data are unavailable.
Table 6. Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices (HICP), 16 countries and areas, 1998–2011
Annual percent change
1998–2011
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
United States(1)
2.6
2.0
3.4
2.3
0.9
2.3
2.8
3.9
3.2
2.6
4.4
-0.9
2.5
3.9
Austria
1.9
0.5
2.0
2.3
1.7
1.3
2.0
2.1
1.7
2.2
3.2
0.4
1.7
3.6
Belgium
2.2
1.1
2.7
2.4
1.6
1.5
1.9
2.5
2.3
1.8
4.5
-0.0
2.3
3.5
Denmark
2.1
2.1
2.7
2.3
2.5
2.0
0.8
1.7
1.8
1.7
3.7
1.0
2.2
2.7
Euro Area(2)
2.0
1.1
2.1
2.4
2.2
2.1
2.1
2.2
2.2
2.1
3.3
0.3
1.6
2.7
European Union(3)
2.1
1.2
1.9
2.2
2.1
2.0
2.0
2.2
2.2
2.3
3.7
1.0
2.1
3.1
France
1.8
0.6
1.8
1.8
1.9
2.2
2.3
1.9
1.9
1.6
3.2
0.1
1.7
2.3
Germany
1.6
0.7
1.4
1.8
1.4
1.0
1.8
1.9
1.8
2.3
2.8
0.2
1.1
2.5
Italy
2.3
1.6
2.5
2.4
2.6
2.8
2.2
2.2
2.2
2.1
3.5
0.7
1.7
2.9
Japan
-0.4
-0.4
-0.9
-1.0
-1.1
-0.3
0.0
-0.4
0.3
0.1
1.6
-1.5
-0.8
-0.3
Netherlands
2.2
2.0
2.3
5.1
3.9
2.2
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.6
2.2
1.0
0.9
2.5
Norway
1.9
2.0
3.1
2.7
0.8
1.9
0.6
1.5
2.5
0.7
3.4
2.3
2.4
1.2
Spain
2.8
2.2
3.5
2.8
3.6
3.1
3.1
3.4
3.6
2.8
4.1
-0.2
2.0
3.1
Sweden
1.7
0.6
1.3
2.7
1.9
2.3
1.0
0.8
1.5
1.7
3.3
1.9
1.9
1.4
Switzerland
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1.0
0.8
2.4
-0.8
0.7
0.1
United Kingdom
2.1
1.3
0.9
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.3
2.0
2.3
2.3
3.6
2.1
3.3
4.5
Notes: (1) Urban households prior to Dec 2001. (2) Data for the Euro Area refer to the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP). For more information, see Technical Notes. (3) Data for the European Union refer to the European Index of Consumer Prices (EICP). For more information, see Technical Notes. Dashes indicate data are unavailable.
Consumer Price Indexes (CPI)
The Consumer Price Indexes or CPI are a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. This report covers the CPI for the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, and 12 European countries. CPI indexes and annual percent changes are based upon national consumer price indexes as published by each country. They have not been adjusted for comparability. National differences exist, for example, in population coverage, frequency of market basket weight changes, and treatment of homeowner costs.
Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices (HICP)
The Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices or HICP are an internationally comparable measure of consumer price inflation. This report covers the HICP for 14 countries and 2 areas. HICP indexes and percent changes conform, insofar as possible, to the conceptual basis of the European Union's Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). The HICP is the standard price index that EU member states must produce for comparisons across countries. It is used by the European Central Bank for the conduct of monetary policy in the euro area. The index represents urban and rural households in each country and excludes the component for owner-occupied housing costs. For more information, see "International comparisons of Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices,"www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2007/02/ressum.pdf.
Methodology
In table 3, CPI indexes are calculated by rebasing the official indexes of each country to the official U.S. base year of 1982-84. Because of the change in base year, the indexes may differ from the official indexes published by national statistical agencies.
Percent changes are computed using the compound rate method. The figures may differ from official percent changes published by national statistical agencies because of rounding. In several countries, the national statistical agencies calculate the official percent changes from more precise index values than those that they publish.
United States
The data for the United States are an "experimental" Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) series adjusted to the concepts of the EU HICP in that they are expanded to cover the entire (non-institutional) population and narrowed to remove owner-occupied housing costs that the HICP excludes from its scope. These U.S. data are produced outside of regular BLS production systems and, consequently, with less than full production quality. For more information, see "Comparing U.S. and European inflation: the CPI and the HICP," at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2006/05/art3full.pdf.
Euro Area
Data for the euro area refer to the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP), the official series published by Eurostat for the EU member countries that have adopted the euro as the common currency. The MUICP is the household expenditure-weighted aggregate of the HICPs of the euro area. The composition of the euro area has changed over the years. As the euro area expands, data for new member countries are linked to this moving coverage series. Thus, the euro area index changes its geographical coverage according to the composition of the euro area during the period to which the data refer. The MUICP index for 2012 is comprised of the following 17 countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. For analytical purposes, Eurostat also makes available historical series covering all the current euro area countries. For more
information see the Eurostat Web site, at
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home.
European Union
Data for the European Union refer to the European Index of Consumer Prices (EICP), the official series published by Eurostat for the European Union (EU). The EICP is the household expenditure-
weighted aggregate of the Harmonized Indexes of Consumer Prices (HICPs) of the EU member countries. The composition of the EU has changed over the years. As EU membership expands, data for
new member countries are linked to this moving coverage series. Thus, the EU index changes its geographical coverage according to the composition of the EU during the period to which the data refer. The EU index for 2012 is comprised of the following 27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. For analytical purposes, Eurostat also makes available historical series covering all the current EU countries.
