Inflation in Belgium
Harmonized consumer price inflation averaged 2.4% in the ten years to 2022, above the Euro Area average of 1.8%. The 2022 average figure was 10.3%. For more inflation information, visit our dedicated page.
Belgium Inflation Chart
Note: This chart displays Inflation (HICP, ann. var. %, aop) for Belgium from 2013 to 2022.
Source: EUROSTAT.
Belgium Inflation Data
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation (HICP, ann. var. %, aop) | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 3.2 | 10.3 |
| Inflation (HICP, ann. var. %, eop) | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 6.6 | 10.2 |
Harmonized prices record biggest fall since July 2009 in October
Harmonized prices fell 1.7% year on year in October, contrasting September’s 0.7% increase. October's figure marked the largest fall in harmonized prices since July 2009 and was the lowest in the euro area. Looking at the details of the release, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages and transportation grew at a softer rate in October.Meanwhile, housing and utilities prices contracted at a more pronounced pace. Annual average harmonized inflation fell to 4.0% in October (September: 5.2%). Meanwhile, consumer price inflation fell to 0.4% in October, from September’s 2.4%. Lastly, harmonized consumer prices rose 0.33% in October over the previous month, swinging from September's 0.37% fall.
On the outlook for inflation, analysts at EIU commented: “We expect inflation to remain high in 2024 after averaging an estimated 2.6% in 2023. […] Energy prices for households will benefit from a fall in European gas prices from their peak in September 2022 amid healthy gas storage levels in Europe. Tighter monetary policy will also help to curtail core inflation. However, the wage indexation system operating in Belgium will prevent inflation from slowing more noticeably.”
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Belgian inflation projections for the next ten years from a panel of 16 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable inflation forecast available for Belgian inflation.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Belgian inflation projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Belgian inflation forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.