Euro Area HICP Inflation — ECB Headline Inflation Dataset (1997–2026)
ECB Dataset · Inflation
Euro Area HICP Inflation — Headline (1997–2026)
The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices — the ECB’s price stability target measure. Annual rate of change for the euro area. The single most important number for ECB monetary policy decisions.
What is the HICP?
The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is the euro area’s official inflation measure, produced by Eurostat using harmonised methodology across all EU member states. Since July 2021, the ECB targets HICP inflation at 2% over the medium term, with the target explicitly symmetric — meaning deviations above and below 2% are equally undesirable.
Unlike the US CPI, the HICP does not include owner-occupied housing costs (a significant methodological difference). This has been a subject of ongoing debate: the ECB Governing Council is working toward integrating owner-occupied housing into the HICP, but methodological challenges have delayed implementation. Eurostat began a major methodological revision in February 2026.
HICP vs US CPI — key differences
Three structural differences make direct HICP-CPI comparisons misleading. First, the HICP excludes owner-occupied housing costs (~24% of US CPI weight), which systematically understates European inflation when housing costs are rising. Second, the HICP uses country-specific weights that change annually based on household expenditure surveys, while US CPI weights are updated less frequently. Third, the geographic unit differs fundamentally: the HICP is a weighted average of 20 countries with distinct inflation dynamics — Germany may run at 2% while Greece is at 4%.
Recent inflation episode (2021–2025)
Euro area HICP inflation peaked at 10.6% in October 2022 — the highest since the creation of the monetary union. Energy prices (driven by the Russia-Ukraine war and European gas dependency) contributed over half of the peak. The subsequent disinflation was faster than most ECB staff projections anticipated: headline HICP fell below 2% by late 2025, driven by energy base effects and moderating food prices, even as services inflation remained sticky above 3%.
CSV Data Dictionary
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| date | YYYY-MM-DD | First day of the reference month |
| hicp_headline_yoy | float | HICP all-items, annual rate of change (%) |
Python & R Code Examples
import pandas as pd
from io import StringIO
import requests
url = "https://data-api.ecb.europa.eu/service/data/ICP/M.U2.N.000000.4.ANR"
resp = requests.get(url, params={"format": "csvdata"})
df = pd.read_csv(StringIO(resp.text))
hicp = df[["TIME_PERIOD", "OBS_VALUE"]].copy()
hicp.columns = ["date", "hicp_headline_yoy"]
hicp["date"] = pd.to_datetime(hicp["date"] + "-01")
hicp = hicp.sort_values("date").set_index("date")
# 2% target line
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(12, 5))
hicp.plot(ax=ax, color="#0f204b", linewidth=1.2)
ax.axhline(2.0, color="#b71c1c", linestyle="--", alpha=0.7, label="2% target")
ax.set_title("Euro Area HICP Inflation — Headline YoY")
ax.legend()
plt.tight_layout()# R — from Eco3min pre-cleaned CSV
library(readr); library(ggplot2)
hicp <- read_csv("https://eco3min.fr/dataset/ecb/ecb-hicp-headline.csv")
hicp$date <- as.Date(hicp$date)
ggplot(hicp, aes(date, hicp_headline_yoy)) +
geom_line(color = "#0f204b") +
geom_hline(yintercept = 2, linetype = "dashed", color = "#b71c1c") +
labs(title = "Euro Area HICP Headline Inflation", y = "YoY (%)", x = NULL) +
theme_minimal()Related ECB Datasets
Source & Methodology
Source: ECB / Eurostat — Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices
Series key: ICP/M.U2.N.000000.4.ANR
Publication: Flash estimate ~end of reference month; final data ~17 days after reference month.
⚠️ Note: Eurostat began a major HICP methodological revision in February 2026. The ECB is migrating from the ICP to a new HICP dataset. Series keys may change.
License: ECB open data — free reuse with attribution.