Consumer price index

Consumer prices

Average measure of change in prices of goods and services bought for the purpose of consumption by the vast majority of households.

The consumer price index represents the average rate of change in the prices of goods and services purchased for consumption in the vast majority of households in the Slovak Republic.
The determined consumer prices are the basic primary data for measuring the price level of consumer prices, its development in time, space and structure, and the basis for the calculation of consumer price indices (living
costs).

The coverage of representatives in the consumer price indices for all households as well as for individual social groups of households is the same, the only difference is in their weights.

Goods and services with the important share in expenditures of the population, representing the whole sphere of consumption, were selected as price representatives.

European System of National Accounts ESA 2010, in accordance with the EU Council and Commission regulations and the CPI 2004 manual.

Index

Calculation of the lowest levels of the indices: The ratio of the simple arithmetic average in the current and base period.
Aggregation - The underlying indices are aggregated to several levels using the Laspeyres formula.

The base period is December of the previous year.
Starting from January 2005, the calculation of the consumer price index for the base period (December
2000) compiles by chaining through December of the previous year. To ensure that the scales
for the basic aggregates reflecting the current spending pattern and consumer behavior, there are weights
annually revised. An important feature of the chain index is that this annual update of the weights
enables and facilitates the introduction of new items and sub-indexes and the removal of outdated ones.

The right to collect data is generally established by Act of the Slovak National Council No. 540/2001 Coll. on state statistics, as amended.
The obligation to provide data is regulated by Decree of the ŠÚ SR no. 425/2023 Coll., which issues the Program of State Statistical Surveys for the years 2024 — 2026.
The Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic is responsible for the protection of confidential data obtained and guarantees their use exclusively for statistical purposes.
Survey of consumer prices — short-term statement of survey of consumer prices — KPESC 1 -12.

From January 2024, the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic will also process price outputs for food and non-alcoholic beverages from a new source – from the so-called scanner data, i.e. from transaction data of retail chains. They have replaced traditional field surveys. The new methodology has significantly expanded and contributed to improving the quality of statistical outputs. The use of scanner data is an important part of the modernization and improvement of price statistics. Prices of other goods and services continue to be obtained directly in the field, in selected stores and operations, or from websites. From January 2025, the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic will also process price outputs from scanner data also for alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

Consumer price indices (national consumer price index - CPI is an important macroeconomic indicator, important for analytical purposes. They serve as an important indicator for the National Bank of Slovakia,  the Ministry of Work, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and other central state administration bodies, for assessing the impact of price developments on the population's standard of living.
The data are regularly (monthly) sent to Eurostat, international institutions — IMF, OECD, UN, ILO and departmental partners — NBS, MF SR, Ministry of Justice SR, MH SR.

The index of consumer prices of goods and services (cost of living) for all households characterizes the price development in the society-wide average.
Average rate of change in prices of goods and services purchased for consumption in the vast majority of households in the Slovak Republic.
The average consumer prices of the selected products are the average prices for Slovakia calculated from the prices found in selected stores and service establishments.

Published types of inflation

The Statistical Office of the SR publishes two types of inflation:

development of consumer prices based on national methodology – Inflation – Consumer Price Indices (the English abbreviation CPI - Consumer Price Index is used)

development of consumer prices based on internationally harmonized EU methodology - Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP - Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices)

Consumer price index of goods and services for all households characterises price development on a generally averaged level. Consumer price indices are also calculated for selected types of social groups of households - employees, pensioners and for households with low money incomes.

The Statistical Office also applies the methodology for Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP) in the National Index of Consumer Prices - CPI, except for the treatment of owner-occupied housing. The HICP and CPI of consumer baskets differ in this area. The HICP, unlike the CPI, does not include the components "Imputed rentals" and selected items related to major repairs and household maintenance.