Life in the European Union was 8.1 percent more expensive in April than a year earlier, according to figures from the European statistics office on Wednesday. Eurostat† That is slightly higher than in March, when inflation stood at 7.8 percent. However, the Netherlands has dropped from fourth to eighth place on the list of 27 countries.
According to Eurostat, Dutch inflation amounted to 11.2 percent last month, which is still above the European average.
Inflation was even higher in March. At that time, according to Eurostat, it amounted to 11.9 percent. This calculation differs from that of the Dutch CBS, because the bureaus measure inflation in a slightly different way.
In Estonia, inflation was highest last month at 19.1 percent. Lithuania and the Czech Republic are in second and third place, with 16.6 and 13.2 percent inflation respectively. France and Malta (both 5.4 percent) and Finland (5.8 percent) had the lowest inflation rates in April.
According to Eurostat, increased energy prices are the main culprit, just like in the previous month. The Dutch CBS said this earlier. That statistical office counts electricity, gas and district heating as energy.
Services also rose sharply in price, says Eurostat. After energy, prices in this category rose the fastest. Then come food, alcohol and tobacco.