The timeline shows the inflation rate measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) in Euro area (changing composition) from January 1997 to March 2024. In March 2024, the HICP inflation rate in the euro area decreased to 2.4 in March 2024 compared to 2.6 in February 2024.

Inflation is the general increase in the overall price level of goods and services typically bought by households (citizens). It is measured as the average price change over a given period of time for a basket of goods and services that are typically bought in the economy. In the euro area, it is measured as changes in the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) compared with the same period one year earlier (“year-on-year” changes). The HICP is broken down following the European classification of individual consumption according to purpose (ECOICOP) and by goods and services aggregates derived from it.