What country reported the highest annual inflation rate in the euro area in January 2025?

Croatia reported an annual inflation rate of 5.0% in January 2025, the highest in the euro area, according to flash estimates from Eurostat.

Other countries to report a high inflation rate, according to the estimates, include Belgium (4.4%), Slovakia (4.1%), Austria (3.5%), Lithuania (3.4%) and Greece (3.0%).

Ireland, meanwhile, reported the lowest annual inflation rate in the euro area, at 1.5%, with Finland (1.6%), Malta (1.7%) and Italy (1.7%) also reporting low inflation rates.

Euro area inflation

Across the euro area as a whole, the annual inflation rate was estimated at 2.5% for the month of January, a slight increase from 2.4% in December 2024, according to the Eurostat data.

Key contributors to the inflation rate included services, which had an annual inflation rate of 3.9% in January (down from 4.0% in December), food, alcohol, and tobacco at 2.3% (down from 2.6%), energy at 1.8% (up from 0.1%), and non-energy industrial goods at 0.5% (stable, month-on-month).

No data is available for Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden as these countries are all outside the euro area. Read more here.

Inflation rate by euro area country, January 2025 (%)