Belgium has once again emerged as the country with the highest inflation rate in the euro area, with an inflation rate of 5.4% in August 2024.
The country’s inflation rate has lessened slightly on a month-on-month basis, however – in July, its inflation rate stood at 5.4%.
Of the countries for which data is available, Estonia had the second-highest inflation rate in the euro area in August, of 3.4%, followed by the Netherlands (3.3%), Slovakia (3.2%) and Greece (3.1%).
At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest inflation rate in August was recorded in Lithuania (0.7%), followed by Latvia (0.9%). Finland, Ireland and Slovenia all reported an inflation rate of 1.1%.
Across the entire euro area, inflation stood at 2.2% in August, down from 2.6% in July, according to the flash estimate data from Eurostat.
Inflation components
Among the components contributing to inflation, services recorded the highest annual rate at 4.2%, up slightly from 4.0% in July. Food, alcohol, and tobacco followed with a rate of 2.4%, a slight increase from 2.3% the previous month. Non-energy industrial goods saw a decline to 0.4% from 0.7% in July, while energy experienced a notable decrease, with inflation falling to -3.0% from 1.2% in July.
The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. Eurostat‘s data excludes non-euro area countries such as Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.
Annual inflation rate by euro area country, August 2024 (%)
| Belgium | 4.5% |
| Estonia | 3.4% |
| Netherlands | 3.3% |
| Slovakia | 3.2% |
| Greece | 3.1% |
| Croatia | 3.0% |
| Malta | 2.5% |
| Austria | 2.5% |
| Spain | 2.4% |
| France | 2.2% |
| Cyprus | 2.2% |
| Germany | 2.0% |
| Portugal | 1.8% |
| Luxembourg | 1.7% |
| Italy | 1.3% |
| Ireland | 1.1% |
| Slovenia | 1.1% |
| Finland | 1.1% |
| Latvia | 0.9% |
| Lithuania | 0.7% |
