In February, Romania recorded the highest level of the harmonized index of consumer prices (inflation indicator that allows you to compare inflation at the European level) in the EU – 7.1%, followed by Iceland (5.3%). Latvia, Denmark and Italy had the lowest inflation rates (less than 1% each), according to Eurostat.

That’s right, each country calculates inflation differently because consumption habits differ from country to country.

When measuring price growth, the National Institute of Statistics looks not only at the goods on store shelves, but also at how important they are to our consumption.

And over the past 10 years, the period HotNews has been investigating, that consumption has changed radically. For example, in Great Britain, the prices of fruit pies and donuts are taken into account when calculating inflation, and in France, when measuring inflation, they look closely at the prices of frogs’ legs, snails and sexual services.

The biggest changes in the importance we place on the items on the INS list are: paying for hotels while on vacation (quantity has increased 72 times over 10 years), followed by clothing (especially fabrics, where the share of spending in the consumer basket has increased by 8). times), washing machines and milk (more than 3 times higher shares).

At the opposite pole, the shares in the consumer basket for sugar, bread, and train travel decreased the most, the impact of which on consumption decreased by almost half compared to 2013.

See here the changes in the shares of products in consumption over 10 years

The weighting factors used to calculate the CPI are obtained from the family budget survey (FBS) and are the result of the structure of the average monthly expenses of the household for the purchase of goods and payment for services necessary to meet life needs. The structure of the population’s expenses is analyzed and refined annually.

The UK includes donuts and apple pie when calculating inflation

The basket changes every year, removing items that are no longer representative of consumption and adding others that have become relevant, especially from the IT&C segment.

The UK takes into account the prices of mashed potatoes, fruit pies and donuts when measuring inflation in the Kingdom. Mashed potatoes were added to the list in 2018.

In addition, prices for caravan holidays or liquids for e-drinks are calculated separately.

France closely monitors the prices of frogs’ legs and snails, and in the “meat” section it has allocated sections for rooster, quail or pheasant meat.

Germany’s love of meat can also be seen in the list by which inflation is measured. The price of anchovies and schnitzel is of great importance. Spicy ketchup also made the list.

Italy confirms its passion for cooking by measuring cooking oils and vegetable oil separately. In addition, prices for “tomatoes for sauce” – as opposed to tomatoes for “cooking” – are also taken separately. Fish are also divided into farmed and freshwater.

When it comes to car prices, in the Netherlands, mini-class, compact class, compact middle class, mid-size class, mid-MPV and SUVs are measured separately.

France especially and uniquely includes prostitution – this means the “tariff” of prostitutes as an indicator of inflation

In September, harmonized index inflation was about the same in Romania, Slovakia, Croatia and very close to Belgium. However, the standard of living in these countries is completely different.

Using data from the International Monetary Fund, we looked at how different people’s consumption is in different countries. In other words, how much the different costs weigh in the consumer basket.

Different weights of the consumer basket indicate a cultural pattern of consumption or the level of economic development.

A country can change the weights assigned to different categories to reflect changes in how consumers spend their budgets over time.

The positions in a country’s basket and the weights assigned to categories of goods and services in the basket can reveal what consumers prefer or, in particular, what their national economies are like. A useful tool for comparing weights is known as Engel’s law.

“The poorer the family, the greater the share of food costs.” Ernst Engel was a German statistician who processed household expenditure data in the Kingdom of Saxony during the 19th century.

France: In the distribution of CPI weights, the category “miscellaneous goods and services” includes: fees for sex, bodyguards or astrologers

Alcohol, tobacco – 4.5%

Clothes, shoes – 3.7%

Food products, drinks – 15.8%

Housing, communal services – 15.3%

Health – 11.2%

Recreation, culture – 8.4%

Restaurants, hotels – 6.0%

Transport – 13.3%

GREAT BRITAIN: Britain’s spending structure is largely the same as Germany’s

Alcohol, tobacco – 3.5%

Clothes, shoes – 6.1%

Education – 3.0%

Food, drinks – 8.9%

Housing and communal services – 32.8%

Health – 2%

Restaurants, hotels – 7%

Mexico: Families spend a higher proportion of their money on food than families in rich countries

To account for inflation, Mexican households were found to spend a higher proportion of their money on food than households in richer countries such as the US, UK and Canada, but less than households in poorer ones such as Ethiopia and Nigeria.

Alcohol, tobacco – 2.7%

Clothes, shoes – 4.8%

Education -3.5%

Food products, beverages – 25.8%

Housing, communal services – 19.6%

Recreation, culture – 4.9%

Restaurants, hotels – 9.5%

Transport – 13.8%

Italy – Low education costs

Along with fellow EU members France and Germany, education in Italy contributes very little to the inflation calculation: around 1% of the figure, which is a result of the free and low-cost, state-subsidized education available in all three countries.

Alcohol, tobacco – 3.6%

Clothes, shoes -6.5%

Education – 1.1%

Food, drinks – 19.3%

Housing and communal services – 11.2%

Restaurants, hotels – 8.3%

Transport – 12.7%

Germany. Housing costs account for approximately 32% of total costs

German consumers spend about 32% of their total spending on housing. In neighboring France, this figure is only 15%. In the EU, only Greece and Denmark have higher housing costs as a share of total household expenditure.

Alcohol, tobacco – 3.8%

Clothes, shoes – 4.5%

Education – 0.9%

Food products, drinks – 9.7%

Housing, communal services – 32.5%

Transport – 13%