Romania reported an inflation rate of 9.0% in the euro area in March 2026, the highest in the euro area, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
Other countries to report a notable increase in inflation for the month included Croatia (4.6%) and Lithuania (4.4%), while the lowest rates were registered in Denmark (1.0%), Czechia (1.5%), Cyprus (1.5%) and Sweden (1.5%).
Annual inflation declined in three countries, remained unchanged in one, and increased in 23.
Inflation across Europe
Annual inflation in the euro area reached 2.6% in March 2026, rising from 1.9% in February. A year earlier, the rate stood at 2.2%. Across the European Union, annual inflation increased to 2.8% in March 2026, compared with 2.1% in the previous month and 2.5% one year earlier.
On a sector-by-sector basis, services accounted for the largest contribution to inflation of 1.49 percentage points. Energy contributed 0.48 percentage points, while food, alcohol and tobacco added 0.45 percentage points. Non-energy industrial goods contributed 0.13 percentage points.
Energy prices showed a change in direction compared with earlier months. After a period of negative annual rates, energy recorded an annual increase of 5.1% in March, with a monthly rise of 7.0%. Services continued to show steady contribution, while food and related categories maintained a smaller but consistent impact on overall inflation.
Core inflation measures, which exclude energy and certain food categories, remained more stable. Inflation excluding energy stood at 2.3% in March, indicating that price changes outside energy were less volatile. Other measures excluding additional categories showed similar patterns, remaining close to 2.2 or 2.3%.
Other notable annual inflation rate increases across EU member states including Ireland recording an annual rate of 3.6%, while Germany stood at 2.8% and France at 2.0%. Italy recorded a rate of 1.6%, while Spain and Greece both recorded 3.4%. Poland recorded 3.2%, while the Netherlands reported 2.6%.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation in the euro area stood at 1.3% in March, while the European Union recorded a rate of 1.1%. Read more here.
Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) – March 2026 (Index, 2025=100)
| Country | Index (2025=100) |
|---|---|
| Belgium | 102.32 |
| Bulgaria | 102.82 |
| Czechia | 101.17 |
| Denmark | 100.25 |
| Germany | 102.11 |
| Estonia | 101.71 |
| Ireland | 102.86 |
| Greece | 102.59 |
| Spain | 102.64 |
| France | 101.40 |
| Croatia | 102.72 |
| Italy | 101.70 |
| Cyprus | 100.45 |
| Latvia | 102.63 |
| Lithuania | 104.26 |
| Luxembourg | 102.63 |
| Hungary | 101.64 |
| Malta | 99.01 |
| Netherlands | 101.54 |
| Austria | 102.59 |
| Poland | 102.73 |
| Portugal | 101.61 |
| Romania | 106.18 |
| Slovenia | 101.45 |
| Slovakia | 102.86 |
| Finland | 102.33 |
| Sweden | 100.58 |
