In the lead up to last year’s elections, we were consistently told that the UK’s inflation was significantly higher than in the EU. In a recent release by the House of Commons Library, that particular myth can now be debunked. Every EU country suffered high inflation rates, in the years that followed the pandemic, the UK was not an exception.
Inflation in different countries can be compared using the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) or the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) as it is known in the UK.
UK inflation was 2.8% in February, down from 3.0% in January. UK inflation was 3.4% in February 2024.
EU inflation was 2.7% in February, down from 2.8% in January. In February 2024, EU inflation was 2.8%.
Inflation in the Eurozone (the EU member states that use the euro as their currency) is provisionally estimated as 2.2% in March 2025, down slightly from 2.3% in February 2025. In March 2024, Eurozone inflation was 2.4%.
In Germany, inflation is provisionally estimated as 2.3% in March 2025, down from 2.6% in February 2025
In France, inflation is provisionally estimated as 0.9% in March 2025, unchanged from February 2025.
Hungary had the highest inflation rate in the EU in February (5.7%). France had the lowest inflation rate (0.9%).