Inflation rate 3.8 percent in 2023, excluding energy at 6.5 percent

Food more expensive

The development of food prices in particular contributed to inflation in 2023. Food was on average 12.1 percent more expensive in 2023 than one year previously. The annual price increase is therefore slightly higher than it was in 2022, when food products became 10.8 percent more expensive in one year. The foodstuffs with the largest price increases in 2023 were sugar (35.2 percent) and olive oil (20.7 percent). The price of bread also increased more than average; bread and cereal products were 15.5 percent more expensive than in 2022.

Food prices increased particularly sharply in the course of 2022 and at the beginning of 2023. After February 2023, food prices did not increase much further. The price level peaked in July 2023 and declined slightly thereafter.

Price increase for restaurants and cafes

In addition to food, a visit to a restaurant and café (including takeaway meals) also contributed relatively much to inflation in 2023. Restaurants and cafés were on average 8.8 percent more expensive in 2023 than one year previously. In 2022, the price increase was 7.9 percent.

Energy less expensive

On the other hand, energy was on average 37.0 percent cheaper in 2023 than it was in 2022. This is mainly due to the high prices in 2022. During 2022, energy prices in the CPI increased sharply, with a peak in October 2022. This was one of the reasons why inflation was measured at a very high level during that period. Energy prices in the CPI were much lower in 2023 than they were in 2022.

As of June 2023, CBS uses a new method for measuring and incorporating energy prices in the CPI, which affects the inflation rate. On 30 June, CBS published a background article explaining in more detail what this switch means for the CPI, the inflation rate and the use of the CPI for indexation purposes.

Eurozone inflation 5.4 percent

Since 1996, CBS has published two different inflation rates: one based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and one based on the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). According to the European HICP, consumer goods and services in the Netherlands were 4.1 percent more expensive in 2023 than they were in 2022. According to the HICP, the inflation rate was 11.6 percent in 2022. Inflation in the euro area fell from 8.4 percent in 2022 to 5.4 percent in 2023.

Difference between CPI and HICP

In order to facilitate comparison between countries, EU member states calculate a consumer price index according to internationally agreed definitions and methods. The European Central Bank (ECB) uses the HICP to formulate its monetary policies in the euro area. In addition, most countries produce their own national consumer price index.

The main conceptual difference between the CPI and the HICP for the Netherlands is that, unlike the CPI, the HICP does not take into account the costs related to home ownership. In the Dutch CPI, these costs are calculated based on developments in rental property prices. The differences are further explained in the article Differences between consumer price figures.