Financial Handbook for Germany

personal, business and public sectors

Prices and Inflation in Germany: Latest Data and Trends

This section provides up-to-date information about price changes in Germany, the current level of inflation, how the cost of living is changing, and how prices in Germany compare to other European countries.


Inflation, Price Changes, and Main Indicators

The main indicator for price changes is the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The level of inflation is calculated based on this index. It shows how much the average cost of a typical basket of goods and services has changed compared to a base year.

Key indicator values as of January 2026:

2.1 %Current inflation rate (compared to the previous year)
122.8 %Consumer Price Index (base year 2020 = 100 %)

Price growth trends over the last 5 and 20 years (reporting year 2025):

4.0 % per yearAverage annual inflation over 5 years
22 %Total price growth over 5 years
2.0 % per yearAverage annual inflation over 20 years
50 %Total price growth over 20 years

An analysis of inflation shows that price trends during the year remain stable.

You can find out more about inflation and its main indicators in Germany by following these links:

Price Changes by Groups of Goods and Services

The overall level of inflation is made up of price changes in different categories of the consumer basket. However, prices in some groups can change much more or less than the national average.

Average annual price increase for main groups of goods and services over 5 years (reporting year 2025):

13.2 % Gas
8.5 % Airline tickets
6.7 % Non-alcoholic beverages
6.6 % Automotive fuels and lubricants
6.3 % Food
5.4 % Insurance
4.9 % Overnight in hotels
4.9 % Cars
4.5 % Electricity
4.3 % Public transport
3.9 % Inpatient treatment
3.4 % Furniture, lighting, appliances and other household accessories
3.1 % Books
3.1 % Financial services
2.8 % Post/ Mail Services
2.5 % Pharmaceutical products
2.0 % Clothing and shoes
1.9 % Rental housing
1.7 % Sports goods
0.9 % Railway travel
0.8 % Outpatient treatment
-0.2 % Computers, mobile phones
-0.4 % Telecommunication services
-1.1 % Computers

Looking at price changes by group helps us understand which categories contribute most to the rising cost of living. For example, if energy and food prices are rising fastest, this affects most people because these expenses make up a large part of the family budget.

Detailed data for each category can be found on separate pages in this section, where you can see exact figures and trends.


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