CONSUMER PRICE INDICES, JANUARY 2026 – Flash Estimate

The prices of goods and services for personal consumption, measured by the consumer price index, according to a flash estimate, increased by 3.4% on average in January 2026 compared to January 2025 (at the annual level). Compared to December 2025 (at the monthly level), they increased by 0.3% on average.

According to the main index components (special aggregates), the estimated annual rate of change was 7.2% for Services, 3.7% for Energy, 3.0% for Food, beverages and tobacco, and 0.1% for Non-food industrial goods without energy.

At the monthly level, an increase in the rate of change was estimated for Services, of 2.2%, Energy, of 1.8%, and Food, beverages and tobacco, of 1.0%, while a decrease in the rate was estimated for the component Non-food industrial goods without energy, of 3.4%.

The flash estimate data of the euro area harmonised index of consumer prices for January 2026 are available on the Eurostat website.

The final consumer price index data for January 2026, as well as historical data series, according to the ECOICOP ver. 2 classification, will be released on 24 February 2026 in PC-Axis databases.

Notice

With the publication of data for January 2026, several methodological changes are introduced in the calculation and publication of the national Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) and the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices at Constant Tax Rates (HICP-CT).

All three indices are compiled according to the new European Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose, version 2 (ECOICOP ver. 2), which is identical to the UN COICOP 2018 classification. Additionally, games of chance are included in the calculation, and a new reference period for the calculation of indices is introduced, 2025 = 100.

More information about the changes is available here.

NOTES ON METHODOLOGY

The flash estimate of the national consumer price index and the harmonised index of consumer prices is based on the data on retail prices obtained from data sources by the end of the reference month to which the prices refer, which accounts for about 80% − 90% of received and processed data. The remaining received data are processed subsequently and included into the calculation of the index for the purpose of the final data release.

Release dates of the flash estimate and final data are available in the Calendar of Statistical Data Issues.

The annual consumer price index measures the changes in prices in the current month compared to the same month of the previous year, while the monthly index measures the changes in prices in the current month compared to the previous month.

Definitions

Consumer price index (CPI) is used as a general measure of inflation in the Republic of Croatia and reflects the changes in the prices of goods and services acquired, used or paid over time by a reference population (private households) for consumption purposes.

Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) is a set of European consumer price indices calculated according to a harmonised approach and a special set of definitions, which enables a comparable measure of inflation in the euro area, the European Union, the European Economic Area and in candidate countries.

Both indicators are calculated on the basis of the same representative basket of goods and services. The main difference is the coverage of the population: the HICP includes the total consumption of institutional households and non-residents in the economic territory, and this consumption is not included in the national consumer price index.

Abbreviations

Published by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, Ilica 3, P. O. B. 80
Phone: (+385 1) 48 06 111
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Persons responsible:
Suzana Šamec, Director of Macroeconomic Statistics Directorate
Lidija Brković, Acting Director General

Prepared by:
Sanja Jurleka, Jasminka Stančić, Gordana Šiletić, Ivana Ključarić, Tamara Golub, Ivana Anzulović and Karlo Nutrizio

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