Three countries – Estonia, Croatia and Slovakia – each recorded an annual inflation rate of 4.3% in March 2025, the highest rate in the euro area, new estimates from Eurostat have found.
At the other end of the scale, the lowest inflation rate for the month was recorded in France, at 0.9%.
Euro area inflation
Across the euro area, annual inflation was estimated at 2.2% in March, down from 2.3% a year earlier.
The main contributors to inflation for the month included the services sector, which had a 3.4% annual inflation rate in March, compared to 3.7% in February, followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (2.9%, compared with 2.7% in February).
Elsewhere, the inflation rate for non-energy industrial goods stood at 0.6%, on a par with the previous month, while the energy sector reported deflation of 0.7%, compared with 0.2% in February.
‘Each of the main components contributes in varying degrees to the headline inflation in the euro area, Eurostat said. ‘In terms of weights for 2025, 100% for the headline HICP, services is the largest component, accounting for around 45.7% of household final monetary consumption expenditure in the euro area. It is followed by non-energy industrial goods with around 25.6%. Food, alcohol & tobacco and energy account for 19.3% and 9.4%, respectively.’ Read more here.
Annual inflation rate by euro area state, March 2025 (%, estimated)
| Country | Mar 25 (Annual) |
|---|---|
| Belgium | 3.6 |
| Germany | 2.3 |
| Estonia | 4.3 |
| Ireland | 1.8 |
| Greece | 3.1 |
| Spain | 2.2 |
| France | 0.9 |
| Croatia | 4.3 |
| Italy | 2.1 |
| Cyprus | 2.1 |
| Latvia | 3.6 |
| Lithuania | 3.6 |
| Luxembourg | 1.5 |
| Malta | 2.0 |
| Netherlands | 3.4 |
| Austria | 3.1 |
| Portugal | 1.9 |
| Slovenia | 2.2 |
| Slovakia | 4.3 |
| Finland | 1.9 |
