Annual inflation across the European Union stood at 3.2% in August 2026, compared to 3.0% the previous month and 2.4% in the corresponding month a year earlier, according to new data from Eurostat.
In the euro area, meanwhile, annual inflation increased to 3.2% in August, up from 2.9% in July and 2.0% a year earlier.
Energy prices contributed 1.29 percentage points to the annual inflation rate, compared with 0.94 percentage points in July. Services contributed 1.43 percentage points, while non-energy industrial goods contributed 0.30 percentage points.
Food, alcohol and tobacco contributed 0.22 percentage points, down from 0.23 percentage points in July. Within this category, processed food, alcohol and tobacco contributed 0.07 percentage points, while unprocessed food contributed 0.14 percentage points.
Energy inflation
Across the European Union, energy inflation accelerated to 14.3%, compared with 10.3% in July, the data showed.
Services inflation stood at 3.0% in August, down from 3.3% in July, while non-energy industrial goods inflation increased from 0.9% to 1.2%.
Country by country
On a country-by-country basis, Romania recorded the highest rate of inflation, at 6.3%, followed by Lithuania (5.6%) and Cyprus (5.2%).
At the other end of the scale, the lowest rates were recorded in Sweden (0.3%), Estonia (1.3%) and Czechia (1.5%)
Compared with July, inflation fell in six Member States, remained unchanged in one and increased in 20.
The next flash estimate, covering September 2026, is scheduled for 2 October, Eurostat noted. Read more here.
Inflation Rates (%) Measured by the HICP
| Country/Region | Aug-26 Annual Rate | Aug-26 Monthly Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Euro area | 3.2 | 0.4 |
| EU | 3.2 | 0.4 |
| Belgium | 4.2 | 2.0 |
| Bulgaria | 5.0 | 0.8 |
| Czechia | 1.5 | 0.3 |
| Denmark | 2.0 | -0.4 |
| Germany | 2.9 | 0.2 |
| Estonia | 1.3 | 0.3 |
| Ireland | 3.4 | 0.6 |
| Greece | 3.7 | 0.4 |
| Spain | 4.6 | 0.7 |
| France | 2.6 | 0.7 |
| Croatia | 3.7 | 0.3 |
| Italy | 3.2 | 0.1 |
| Cyprus | 5.2 | 1.5 |
| Latvia | 3.0 | 0.3 |
| Lithuania | 5.6 | -0.1 |
| Luxembourg | 4.0 | 1.8 |
| Hungary | 1.8 | 0.2 |
| Malta | 2.0 | 0.6 |
| Netherlands | 2.8 | 0.1 |
| Austria | 2.9 | 0.5 |
| Poland | 3.5 | 0.3 |
| Portugal | 3.6 | 0.3 |
| Romania | 6.3 | 0.3 |
| Slovenia | 3.4 | 0.3 |
| Slovakia | 3.1 | 0.0 |
| Finland | 2.4 | -0.3 |
| Sweden | 0.3 | -0.3 |
