Consumer Price Index (CPI) Calculation
Consumer Price Index (CPI) is calculated differently in different countries. Below, You will learn how is the Consumer Price Index (CPI) calculated in different countries in the World. You may also wonder how the core inflation index and unemployment level are calculated in different countries.
Australia
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Australia?
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Australia is done as follows.
The reference population for the Australian CPI is private households in the eight capital cities: the six state capitals and the territory capitals of Canberra and Darwin. This is referred to as the CPI population group and it represents about two thirds of Australian private households. All households except those living in institutions such as hospitals, barracks, prisons, and on board ships are covered. There are 87 expenditure classes (that is, groupings of like items).
Austria
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Austria?
According to Statistics Austria, Eurostat, OeNB the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Austria is done as follows.
Price data is collected monthly in cooperation with the local government in 20 selected cities all over Austria. In addition to that, Statistik Austria staff collects price data as well. In total, about 42.600 prices for 770 index numbers are collected in 3.600 stores per month.
Belgium
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Belgium?
According to Statistics Belgium the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Belgium is done as follows.
The Monthly survey of consumer prices comprises the records carried out in about 10,000 shops. In total, about 70,000 price records are carried out in 55 localities spread across the whole Belgian territory.
Canada
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Canada?
According to Statistics Canada the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Canada is done as follows.
The geographical universe includes all of Canada, except for Indian reserves. Canadian forces bases overseas are also excluded. The universe of retail outlets includes all locations where consumers make purchases. The target population of the CPI consists of families and individuals living in urban and rural private households in Canada. People living in collective households, such as members of communal colonies, prison inmates, and chronic care patients in hospitals and nursing homes are excluded from the target population.
Chile
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Chile?
According to Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Chile is done as follows.
The CPI base 2018=100 is constructed with data on prices and expenditures from the regional capitals and conurbation zones of the sixteen regions of the country.
Czech Republic
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Czech Republic?
According to Czech Statistical Office the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Czech Republic is done as follows.
Consumer prices are surveyed in 35 selected districts in the CR and in the Capital of Prague. Consumer basket represents approximately 50 000 prices to be surveyed monthly.
Denmark
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Denmark?
According to Statistics Denmark the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Denmark is done as follows.
The population consists of the goods and services, which are included in the consumption expenditure of domestic households and private foreign visitors to Denmark. The consumer price index is calculated on the basis of 23,000 prices collected from approx. 1,600 shops, companies and institutions throughout Denmark.
Estonia
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Estonia?
According to Statistics Estonia, Economic and Environmental Statistics Department the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Estonia is done as follows.
Consumer price indices cover the whole household sector, more precisely the goods and services acquired by households. An expert sample is drawn from the country’s representative goods in representative points of sales in regions. In 2017, the number of representative items in the sample was 722. The average number of prices collected in a month in ten regions was 23,000.
Finland
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Finland?
According to Statistics Finland the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Finland is done as follows.
The Consumer Price Index describes changes in consumer prices according to the consumption structure of an average household. It comprises the price development of the overall index, commodity groups and 498 commodities. The Whole country is covered.
France
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in France?
According to Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE) the calculation of Consumer Price Index in France is done as follows.
Surveys are carried out in 99 conurbations of over 2,000 inhabitants situated throughout metropolitan France and of any size and 10 conurbations in four Overseas Departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, Réunion). A sample of just over 1,100 product families, called “varieties” is defined in order to take account of the heterogeneity of products within items. The variety is the basic level for tracking products and calculation of the index. The list of varieties remains confidential and the CPI is not disseminated at this level. A sample of 30,000 retail outlets, stratified according to the form of sale, has been created in order to represent the diversity of products and purchasing methods used by consumers, and to take account of the price variations, which are differentiated according to the forms of sale.
Germany
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Germany?
According to Statistisches Bundesamt the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Germany is done as follows.
Consumer price indices are compiled for the Federal Republic of Germany as a whole and for all Länder.
Greece
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Greece?
According to Hellenic Statistical Authority, STATISTICAL AUTHORITY the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Greece is done as follows.
The CPI refers to the whole country and covers the resident households of the territory excluding collective households (hospitals, homes for the elderly, boarding houses, prisons, etc.) and non-resident households (tourists) in the country. Prices are collected in 24 cities; the markets of these cities are considered to be representative centres of wider geographic areas. The weigts of CPI items and the composition of the “household basket” i.e. the selection of goods and services which are included in the calculation of CPI are updated annually, using the results of the latest available HBS, other market research, etc.
Hungary
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Hungary?
According to KSH – Hungarian Central Statistical Office the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Hungary is done as follows.
The CPI refers to the whole country. The weights of the 140 basic headings are the same every month throughout the year. The consumer price index is calculated monthly. 8th of the month following the reference month unless it falls on weekend or Monday.
Iceland
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Iceland?
According to Statitstics Iceland the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Iceland is done as follows.
Information on pricing of goods, which is collected monthly, is used to measure price changes. Every month about 20,000 prices of more than 4,000 different goods and services are registered.
Ireland
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Ireland?
According to CSO – Central Statistics Office: the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Ireland is done as follows.
Prices are collected for the CPI in 84 cities and towns across the State. There is at least one pricing location in each county. The representative sample of goods and services covered by the index is updated at each rebasing to ensure that it continues to be representative of consumer tastes and purchasing practices. The updated CPI basket contains 615 item headings as of December 2016. The item heading weights were updated based on the results of the 2015/2016 HBS. Since February 2010, prices are collected over a period of more than one working week, i.e. Monday prior to the second Tuesday of the month up to and including the third Tuesday of the month.
Israel
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Israel?
According to The Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Israel is done as follows.
The CPI is published on the 15th of each month. 1300 products and services in some 3500 stores businesses and households in about 100 localties are collected.
Italy
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Italy?
According to Istituto Nazionale de Statistica (ISTAT) the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Italy is done as follows.
In the all 94 municipalities (79 for the full basket and 15 for a subset of products) taking part in the 2019 survey, prices are collected in more than 41,900 statistical units (including outlets, enterprises and institutions) while rents are collected for about 8,000 dwellings. 458,000 quotes are sent on a monthly basis to Istat by Municipal Offices of Statistics (UCS in Italian) each month. The 2019 basket for the Italian consumer price indices for the whole nation (NIC) and for blue and white-collar households (FOI) is made up of 1,507 elementary products (1,489 in 2018), which are grouped into 922 products and 407 product aggregates.
Japan
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Japan?
According to Statistics Bureau (STATGO) the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Japan is done as follows.
The price survey is conducted in 167 cities, towns and villages (municipalities) throughout the nation. The number of items used for the calculation of the index (hereinafter referred to as “index items” or simply “items”) totals 585, consisting of 584 items and an item of imputed rent of owner-occupied housing (including 4 items priced only in Okinawa Prefecture).
Korea
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Korea?
According to Statistics Korea, KOSIS the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Korea is done as follows.
The price survey is conducted in 38 major cities nationwide. 460 consumer items purchased by households for their daily living are collected in 25,000 stores of retailers and service providers.
Latvia
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Latvia?
According to Central statistical Bureau (CSB) the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Latvia is done as follows.
The CPI covers the whole resident population of the country, including persons living in institutional households (social care institutions, children’s homes, prisons, etc.). The CPI does not cover expenses of non-resident travellers. The CPI covers the prices paid for goods and services in monetary transactions. The CPI excludes illegal goods and services, gifts, expenditure on the owner-occupied housing, as well as interest and credit charges. In 2019, the CPI “basket” contains 516 goods and services the prices of which are recorded regularly. Approximately 25 -thousand various trade and services outlets are surveyed. In total, about 20-thousand prices are observed each month.
Lithuania
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Lithuania?
According to Statistics Lithuania the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Lithuania is done as follows.
The CPI covers the entire geographical territory of the country, represented by 18 territorial units (10 counties and 8 regional centres), selected for the price survey. Prices are collected in small, medium towns and five major cities with the population from 5 500 (small towns) to 540 000 (cities). Prices for food products, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages and tobacco are additionally collected in 10 villages. The target population of enterprises and local units is comprised of trade and service enterprises and local units of all forms of ownership, types and sizes. In 2019, about 4 300 trade and service enterprises and local units were selected for the statistical survey on prices for consumer goods and services. The target population of goods and services covers goods and services purchased by household within the economic territory of the country. In 2019, target sample is comprised of 941 represantative consumer goods and services. The target population of households covers all households residing in the country, except for non-residents. The household sector includes all individuals or groups of individuals irrespective of, in particular, the type of area in which they live, their position in income distribution, nationality or citizenship.
Mexico
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Mexico?
According to Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Mexico is done as follows.
The price quote of the INPC, based on the second half of July 2018, is carried out in a sample of establishments located in 55 geographical areas, distributed in the 32 Federal Entities of the country. These 55 geographic areas include the 49 most important metropolitan areas of the 32 federal entities, 32 capitals and the most important municipalities where 73.6% of the population of the entire country lives, according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census. The basket of goods and services, derived from the last change of base, considers 299 generic concepts which cover 91 branches of economic activity, corresponding to the agricultural, livestock, industrial and services sectors. About 328 thousand prices are quoted monthly, corresponding to a sample of approximately 120,454 specific goods and services.
Netherlands
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Netherlands?
According to CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek) the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Netherlands is done as follows.
Consumer goods and services purchased by Dutch households. More than 15 thousand prices of more than 800 goods and services are collected at more than 4 thousand respondents. Consumer spending data by National Accounts are used to determine the weights of the various goods and services in the CPI. In addition, budget surveys and other external sources are used. The weights of the product groups in the CPI are adjusted and published annually in January.
New Zeland
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in New Zeland?
According to Statistics New Zealand the calculation of Consumer Price Index in New Zeland is done as follows.
CPI prices are collected from 12 regional pricing centres within five broad regions (Auckland, Wellington, rest of North Island, Canterbury, and rest of South Island). The reference population of the CPI covers approximately 98 percent of the usually-resident New Zealand population living in permanent dwellings. About 100,000 prices from about 2,800 retail outlets and 2,300 other businesses and landlords are collected. About 2,500 surveys to a range of businesses each quarter, including construction firms, medical centres, and used car yards are sent. Websites to collect prices for things like streaming services, software, and private accommodation rented from others are visited. There is also acollection of data from various other sources, including scanner data for consumer electronics such as televisions, laptops, and mobile phones.
Norway
How is the Consumer Price Index calculated in Norway?
According to Statistics New Zealand the calculation of Consumer Price Index in Norway is done as follows.
Published the 10th of the month, around 10 days after the current month. The population is defined as all goods and services offered to households in Norway. A sample of about 650 goods and services is selected. In addition, scanner data is used as the only data source for food and beverages together with non-food goods from supermarkets, pharmaceutical goods, fuel and within specific consumption groups in clothing and equipment for sport and open-air recreation. Prices are collected from a sample of outlets, households and municipalities. The outlets comprise a panel sample where one sixth of the outlets are replaced each year. The sample amounts to about 2 000 firms. The sample of households for the survey of rents amounts to 2 500 tenants based on the Rental market survey. The outlets/firms are selected from Statistics Norway’s Business Register in proportion to the firms turnover i.e. large firms have a bigger probability of being chosen. The selection is made after stratifying the population by industry and region.