Regional inflation: still standing out above the European line
Inflationary pressures are easing, but the pace of price growth remains fast in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Hungary led the negative ranking for a long time and still records high inflation, but Romania currently shows even worse figures. By contrast, the Czech currency environment has remained persistently stable.
In 2025, the inflationary environment in Europe has become more stable overall, with the European Union and the euro area moving closer to central bank targets. At the same time, price growth in Central and Eastern Europe – particularly in the Visegrád countries and Romania – has continued to exceed the EU average. According to Eurostat’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), annual inflation in the European Union during the first half of 2025 typically ranged between 2.4 and 2.7 percent, while in the euro area it stood at around 2.1–2.3 percent, already close to the European Central Bank’s 2 percent target.
In Hungary, inflation in 2025 continued to exceed the EU average. Based on national data, Hungarian harmonised inflation fluctuated between 4 and 5.5 percent in the first months of 2025, placing the country in the upper third of the EU ranking. Although this represented a significant improvement compared to the extreme peaks of 2022–2023, price pressures remained stronger than in Western Europe, especially in the case of food and services.
In Poland, inflation in 2025 was more moderate but still above the EU average. Harmonised data show that annual inflation stood at around 4 percent in the spring of 2025, lower than in Hungary but higher than the euro area average. Poland’s inflation path appeared more stable than in previous years, yet price increases remained clearly perceptible for households.
The Czech Republic clearly stood out from the region in 2025 due to its lower inflation. According to harmonised indicators from the Czech Statistical Office and Eurostat, annual inflation generally moved between 2 and 3 percent in 2025, in several months remaining close to or below the EU average. At the beginning of 2025, Czech inflation was approximately 2.0–2.6 percent, which is considered moderate by European standards.
Slovakia’s inflation profile in 2025 represented a middle ground between the Czech and Polish models. As a member of the euro area, Slovakia’s inflation was directly influenced by the European Central Bank’s monetary policy; however, the effects of energy and food prices as well as tax changes meant that annual inflation during the first half of 2025 generally hovered around 4 percent. This level exceeded the euro area average but did not stand out within the EU.
Romania remained one of the European Union’s highest-inflation countries in 2025. According to data from Romania’s statistical office, annual inflation ranged between 4.8 and 5.5 percent in the spring of 2025, while harmonised inflation exceeded the EU average in several months. Reports by ActMedia and Agerpres indicate that Romania appeared repeatedly near the top of the EU inflation ranking in 2025, particularly due to rising food and service prices.
To interpret the current inflationary situation, it is also important to look back at earlier peaks. During the 2022–2023 period, countries in the region – especially Hungary – experienced much stronger inflationary shocks than Western Europe. Some analyses suggest that high energy import dependence, fiscal stimulus, and the distorting effects of price controls contributed to inflation not only rising higher but also declining more slowly.
