Inflation in the EU, August 2026: where prices are rising fastest
Published
Annual inflation reached 3.2% in both the EU and the euro area in August 2026, up from 2.4% and 2.0% a year earlier. Romania had the highest rate, at 6.3%, and Sweden the lowest, at 0.3%. Here are the final figures for all 27 EU countries.
Prices in the EU rose 3.2% in the year to August 2026, according to final figures that Eurostat published on 17 September 2026. A year earlier, in August 2025, the EU rate was 2.4%. In the euro area, inflation was also 3.2%, up from 2.0% a year earlier and from 2.9% in July 2026.
The figures measure the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), which compares the price of the same basket of goods and services with the same month of the previous year. August 2026 is the latest month with final data for all 27 countries: the September figures published so far are a flash estimate that does not yet cover all 27 countries.
Since January 2026, Eurostat publishes the HICP under a revised product classification and in a new dataset; the 2025 rates in the table come from the back series recalculated under the new classification.
The table
Ranked from the highest to the lowest annual rate in August 2026.
| Rank | Country | Annual inflation, August 2026 | Annual inflation, August 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania | 6.3% | 8.5% |
| 2 | Lithuania | 5.6% | 3.6% |
| 3 | Cyprus | 5.2% | 0.0% |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 5.0% | 3.5% |
| 5 | Spain | 4.6% | 2.7% |
| 6 | Belgium | 4.2% | 2.6% |
| 7 | Luxembourg | 4.0% | 2.8% |
| 8 | Croatia | 3.7% | 4.6% |
| 8 | Greece | 3.7% | 3.1% |
| 10 | Portugal | 3.6% | 2.5% |
| 11 | Poland | 3.5% | 2.8% |
| 12 | Ireland | 3.4% | 1.9% |
| 12 | Slovenia | 3.4% | 3.0% |
| 14 | Italy | 3.2% | 1.6% |
| 15 | Slovakia | 3.1% | 4.4% |
| 16 | Latvia | 3.0% | 4.2% |
| 17 | Austria | 2.9% | 4.1% |
| 17 | Germany | 2.9% | 2.0% |
| 19 | Netherlands | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| 20 | France | 2.6% | 0.8% |
| 21 | Finland | 2.4% | 2.3% |
| 22 | Denmark | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| 22 | Malta | 2.0% | 2.7% |
| 24 | Hungary | 1.8% | 4.2% |
| 25 | Czechia | 1.5% | 2.3% |
| 26 | Estonia | 1.3% | 6.2% |
| 27 | Sweden | 0.3% | 3.4% |
| EU | 3.2% | 2.4% | |
| Euro area | 3.2% | 2.0% |
Where prices are rising fastest
Romania had the highest annual rate in August 2026, at 6.3%, although that is lower than its 8.5% a year earlier. Lithuania followed at 5.6%, then Cyprus at 5.2% and Bulgaria at 5.0%.
Cyprus had the sharpest turn: prices there were flat a year earlier, at 0.0%, and rose 5.2% in the year to August 2026. Spain (4.6%) and Belgium (4.2%) were the other countries above 4%.
Where prices are rising slowest
Sweden had the lowest rate, at 0.3%, down from 3.4% a year earlier. Estonia followed at 1.3%, down from 6.2%, then Czechia at 1.5% and Hungary at 1.8%. Denmark and Malta were at 2.0%.
The direction of travel
Inflation was higher in August 2026 than a year earlier in 17 of the 27 countries and lower in the other 10. Compared with July 2026, Eurostat reports that annual inflation fell in six countries, stayed the same in one and rose in twenty.
The biggest increases on the year were in Cyprus (from 0.0% to 5.2%), Lithuania (from 3.6% to 5.6%), Spain (from 2.7% to 4.6%) and France (from 0.8% to 2.6%). The biggest falls were in Estonia (from 6.2% to 1.3%), Sweden (from 3.4% to 0.3%) and Hungary (from 4.2% to 1.8%).
Low inflation is not the same as low prices
The HICP measures how fast prices change, not how high they are. A country with low inflation can still be expensive, and a country with high inflation can still be cheap. To compare price levels, see our ranking of the cheapest countries in the EU to live in, which uses Eurostat's price level indices.
What the figures do not show
- Your own basket. The index follows an average basket of goods and services. If rent or energy takes a bigger share of your budget, your own inflation can be higher or lower.
- Wages. The rate says nothing about whether pay is keeping up. Our article on minimum wages in Europe covers that side.
- What comes next. One month is a snapshot. Eurostat publishes the final September figures on 16 October 2026.
Country profiles: Romania, Lithuania, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Estonia and Czech Republic.
Countries in this article
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Related
Sources
- Eurostat. Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), ECOICOP ver.2, indices and rates of change, monthly data (prc_hicp_minr), annual rate of change, all items. accessed .
- Eurostat. Annual inflation up to 3.2% in the euro area (August 2026), euro indicators release of 17 September 2026. accessed .
- Eurostat. Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), reference metadata (ECOICOP version 2 from January 2026). accessed .