Austria - Consumer Price Index (CPI)

For Austria, a detailed consumer price index (CPI) is published concurrently under four successive base years. This program is separate from the Eurostat-standard harmonized CPI.

The consumer price index (CPI) is a measure of general price trends and of inflation in Austria. In addition to its role as a general indicator of inflation, the CPI is used for the valorisation of fixed amounts of money (e.g. rents, living costs), and also provides the data on which wage and salary negotiations are based. Both consumer price indices are thus key indicators for Austrian and European data users. 

The CPI and HICP are reported by Statistics Austria and the central bank, respectively.

Consumer price index

Active:

• Native term: Verbraucherpreisindex (VPI)
• Classification: ECOICOP ver.2
• Measurement: Fixed-base index relative to 2025 (Index 2025=100)
• Adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
• Native frequency: Monthly
• Start dates:
  • 2025m12 for all-items index
  • 2026m1 otherwise

Predecessors:

• ECOICOP ver.1, 2020=100 - 2020m12 to 2025m12
• 2015=100 - 2015m1 to 2025m12 ("_15")
• 2010=100 - 2011m1 to 2025m12 ("_10")
• 2005=100 - 2006m1 to 2025m12 ("_05")

Global concept alias:

• CPI

Harmonized index of consumer prices

Active:

• Native term: Harmonisierten Verbraucherpreisindex (HVPI)
• Measurement: Fixed-base index relative to 2025 (Index 2025=100)
• Adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
• Native frequency: Monthly
• Start date: 1987m1

Predecessors:

• 2015=100 - 1987m1 to 2025m12
• 2005=100 - 1987m1 to 2015m12 ("_05")

Global concept alias:

• HICP

The source writes:

The HICP by the following schemes:

• The geographical and population coverage follows the domestic concept and includes any purchases made by households within Austria; hence also the purchases of tourists in Austria are included.
• Only those goods and services covered, in the context of a monetary Transaction to be paid.
• The prices actually paid are recorded, so taxes are included. The prices of seasonal sales are reflected in the inflation rate.
• Interest and borrowing costs are not included, since they as finance costs are valued and not classified as consumption expenditure.
• Insurance are taken into account according to the net concept, which is the sum of insurance premiums minus payments from insurance to households 8th. 

The national CPI differs in certain respects from the coverage of the HICP from:

• Investment related expenses for construction, expansion and remodeling of homes are include (e.g .: materials and services for condominiums and homes of housing extension (e.g .: Dachausbauten); Improvements that create significant value and the total object concern (eg. B .: insulation the entire house, installed a new heating system (z. B .: transition to renewable Energy));
• Some tax-like charges, such as the engine-related insurance tax, are included in the CPI:
• gambling contained
• Insurance are taken into account by the gross concept, which is the sum of
  insurance premiums

Moody's Analytics supplements

For the CPI all-items index (NSA), we back-extend to 1957m1 using its predecessor(s). We construct a seasonally adjusted counterpart using the X-13ARIMA-SEATS program.

For the HICP all-items index (NSA), we construct a seasonally adjusted counterpart.

The source writes:

Revisions were previously carried out every 10 years, today they must be conducted at five-year intervals in accordance with EU regulations (EC No. 2494/95). The aim is to adapt the basket of goods and services accordingly so it is representative for the current consumer behaviour of households.

The CPI has been subject to revisions since 1958, and was revised for the seventh time at the beginning of 2006.

Further reading

At the source:

• Standard-documentation: Meta information: Consumer Price Index and Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (Oct 2024, pdf)
• Klassifikationsumstellung des VPI und HVPI auf COICOP18 / ECOICOP vers2 (Jan 2026, pdf)
• VPI- und HVPI- Revision 2025 (Feb 2026, pdf)

At Eurostat:

• Harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP) » Overview

At IMF (SDDS Plus):

• Real sector: Price index: Consumer prices (Jan 2026)

• Sep 2005 - Initial version.
• Jun 2012 - Addendum of SA supplements.
• Feb 2013 - Rebased to 2010.
• Apr 2016 - Addendum of base 2015.
• Apr 2021 - Addendum of base 2020.
• 5 Mar 2026, Phillip Thorne - CPI reclassified to ECOICOP ver.2, rebased to 2025: Description, Properties, Further reading.
• 27 Apr 2026, Phillip Thorne - HICP rebased to 2025: Properties, Moody's Analytics supplements.