Belgium reported an annual inflation rate of -0.8% in November 2023, the lowest in the European Union, new data from Eurostat has shown.
This compares to a -1.7% inflation rate for the country in October 2023, while in November 2022, the inflation rate in Belgium stood at 10.5%.
No other European markets reported a negative inflation rate for the month, however Denmark (0.3%), Italy (0.6%) and Finland (0.7%) all saw inflation at lower than 1%.
The highest annual inflation rates, meanwhile, were reported Czechia (8.0%), Hungary (7.7%), Slovakia and Romania (both 6.9%), the data showed. All have shown a marked decrease since November 2022, where they reported inflation rates of 17.2%, 23.1%, 15.1% and 14.6% respectively.
Euro area inflation
For the euro area, the annual inflation rate stood at 2.4% for the month of November, down from 2.9% in October. This compares to a 10.1% inflation rate for the same month in 2023.
Elsewhere, European Union annual inflation was 3.1% in November 2023, down from 3.6% in October. A year earlier, the rate stood at 11.1%.
In November, the primary driver of the annual inflation rate in the euro area was services, contributing the most at +1.69 percentage points (pp). Following closely were food, alcohol & tobacco (+1.37 pp), and non-energy industrial goods (+0.75 pp), while energy made a negative contribution (-1.41 pp).
Top 10 European Countries By Lowest Inflation Rate, November 2023
| Country | Rate |
|---|---|
| Belgium | -0.8 |
| Denmark | 0.3 |
| Italy | 0.6 |
| Finland | 0.7 |
| Latvia | 1.1 |
| Netherlands | 1.4 |
| Luxembourg | 2.1 |
| Portugal | 2.2 |
| Germany | 2.3 |
| Lithuania | 2.3 |
