Try out the personal inflation calculator and understand price statistics

What is it about?

The basket of goods of the consumer price index is made up of about 700 goods. For each type of goods - for instance, for books, cinema tickets or for petrol - the price trend is calculated. The entire consumer price index is a weighted average of the price trends for all about 700 types of goods.

The rate of price increase therefore does not only depend on how the prices change. Another important factor is the weights with which the price trends of the individual types of goods are included in the overall index. The weights used by the Federal Statistical Office apply to the average consumer. They are therefore weights which are representative of an average German household. Being calculated in this way, the official rate of price increase is an important indicator for the economic and monetary policy. It serves, for instance, for international inflation comparisons or adaptations of escalator clauses in contracts under private law.

But: The average consumer only exists in theory. Hence, the officially calculated price increase cannot be transferred directly to your personal situation. If for instance you do not have a car, you will not spend money on petrol, although fuel is included in the basket of goods of consumer price statistics. How much an individual household is affected by inflation depends very much on what goods they buy. How much does my personal rate of price increase deviate from the official average value?

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Technical Note