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, Great Britain takes into account the prices of fruit pies and donuts when calculating inflation, and France, when measuring inflation, looks carefully 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 household’s average monthly expenses 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 it measures inflation in the UK. 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. Carp are also divided into farmed and freshwater carp.

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.

The difference between inflation and the cost of living

People often use the terms inflation and cost of living interchangeably. They do not mean the same thing, although they are closely related.

Inflation is the big picture. As the cost of food or clothing or maintaining your car rises, purchasing power falls. The inflation rate is calculated monthly by the National Institute of Statistics based on a basket of goods and services that reflect the country’s consumption habits.

The cost of living is a little different. This concept is most often used when you want to compare the minimum income that covers your needs in different parts of the country or the world. For example, the cost of living in Bucharest is higher than in Teleorman or Giurgiu.

Going back to inflation and the consumer basket on which it is calculated, it varies greatly from country to country.

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 various expenses 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.

A country’s basket positions and the weights assigned to categories of goods and services in the basket can reveal what consumers prefer, or what their national economy specifically has. 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%

Hong Kong – adjusted for inflation, housing and communal services account for more than a third of total costs

Hong Kong’s residential property market is notoriously expensive. Last year, it took the third place in the world for the most expensive rent and the first place for real estate prices. So it’s no surprise that housing and utilities account for more than a third of total spending in Hong Kong’s inflation calculations.

Alcohol, tobacco – 0.5%

Clothes, shoes – 3.2%

Education – 3.4%

Food, drinks – 9.6%

Housing, communal services – 36.9%

Health – 3.0%

Restaurants, hotels – 17.8%

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 observed 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 countries 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, beverages – 9.7%

Housing, communal services – 32.5%

transport – 13%

Japan – transport costs are the lowest

Among the rich countries in our set, changes in transportation costs affect Japan the least. Private car ownership there has been declining for years, partly because owning a car is expensive. Tolls and parking fees are high, so it’s no wonder that Japanese people are ditching their cars and relying on public transportation, thus reducing their overall transportation costs.

Alcohol, tobacco – 1.6%

Clothes, shoes – 4.4%

Education – 3.3%

Food, drinks – 19.3%

Housing and communal services – 27.6%

Transport – 8%

Nigeria: More than half of spending is on food

On the other hand, only 1% is taken out.

Alcohol, tobacco – 1.1%

Clothes, shoes – 7.7%

Education – 3.9%

Food, beverages – 51.8%

Housing, communal services – 16.7%

Recreation, culture – 0.7%

Restaurants, hotels – 1.2%

Transport – 6.5%

Canada: Almost 17% of Canadian household spending is on transportation

The distances are great, so it’s understandable.

Alcohol, tobacco – 2.5%

Clothes, shoes – 5.1%

Food products, drinks – 11.3%

Housing and communal services – 24.9%

Restaurants, hotels – 6.8%

Transport – 17.1%

Sources used: IMF, Qz.com, Investopedia,