What EU country reported the highest inflation rate in January 2025?

Hungary reported the highest annual inflation rate in the European Union in January 2025, with a rate of 5.7%, new data from Eurostat has revealed.

According to the data, other countries to report a high annual inflation rate for the month included Romania (5.3%), Croatia (5.0%), Belgium (4.4%), Poland (4.3%) and Slovakia (4.2%).

At the other end of the scale, the inflation rate in Denmark was the lowest in the European Union in January, at 1.4%, followed by Ireland, Italy, and Finland, which each recorded an inflation rate of 1.7%.

Euro area inflation

In the euro area as a whole, the inflation rate rose to 2.5% in January, up from 2.4% in December 2024, while the European Union annual inflation rate rose to 2.8%, up from 2.7%, Eurostat‘s data showed.

The largest contribution to euro area inflation came from the services sector, which added 1.77 percentage points. Food, alcohol, and tobacco contributed 0.45 percentage points, while energy added 0.18 percentage points. Non-energy industrial goods contributed 0.12 percentage points.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) data showed that inflation excluding energy stood at 2.6% in January 2025.

The next flash estimate, covering February 2025, is scheduled for 3 March. Read more here.

Inflation Rate by EU Member State, January 2025 (%)