Categories: EuropeRomania

What EU country reported the highest inflation rate in January 2026?

Romania reported the highest annual inflation rate in the European Union in January 2026, of 8.5%, according to new data from Eurostat.

Other countries to report a higher-than-average inflation rate for the month included Slovakia (4.3%), Estonia (3.8%), Croatia (3.6%), Latvia (2.9%) and Greece (2.9%).

The lowest annual inflation rates were recorded in France (0.4%), Denmark (0.6%), Finland (1.0%) and Italy (1.0%).

On a month-on-month basis, i.e. compared to December 2025, the annual inflation rate rose in three EU member states, remained stable in one and fell in 23 member states, according to Eurostat.

Annual inflation rate

Overall, across the European Union, the annual inflation rate stood at 2.0% in January 2026, down from 2.3% the previous month and 2.8% in January 2025. In the euro area specifically, the annual inflation rate stood at 1.7% for the month, down from 2.0% in December.

The highest contribution to the annual euro area inflation rate in January came from services (+1.45 percentage points), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (+0.51 percentage points), non-energy industrial goods (+0.09 percentage points) and energy (-0.39 percentage points), Eurostat’s data showed. Read more here.

Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), January 2026

Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), January 2026 (Index 2025 = 100)

Country	HICP Index (2025 = 100)
Belgium	99.54
Bulgaria	101.58
Czechia	100.62
Denmark	99.37
Germany	100.56
Estonia	100.99
Ireland	100.27
Greece	100.16
Spain	100.53
France	99.59
Croatia	101.25
Italy	99.50
Cyprus	99.41
Latvia	100.42
Lithuania	101.72
Luxembourg	99.44
Hungary	101.11
Malta	97.47
Netherlands	99.21
Austria	100.65
Poland	101.41
Portugal	99.24
Romania	104.61
Slovenia	100.35
Slovakia	102.73
Finland	100.27
Sweden	100.65