Monthly consumer price index in Poland 2018-2024
In October 2024, prices of consumer goods and services in Poland increased by 4.9 percent compared to the same month last year and by 0.3 percent compared to the previous month. The lowest inflation level occurred in January 2019, when the CPI reached 0.7 percent, and the highest in February 2023, when it reached 18.4 percent.
Change in prices of products and services
Annual inflation in 2023 amounted to 11.4 percent. This indicator steadily increased since 2018 and is the highest in a decade. Compared with other countries of the Central and Eastern European region, Poland had one of the highest inflation, being behind Hungary and Czechia in 2023. That year, the average price increase for the EU countries was 6.4 percent. The most significant impact on the total consumer price index was higher dwelling prices. Housing and utilities prices increased by over nine percent in December 2023 compared to a year earlier.
Change in prices of food products
In December 2021, prices of food products and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 8.6 percent yearly. A gradual increase in the price of food items was already noted in 2020. For comparison, fruit prices rose by nearly 18 percent during this period, and cured meat prices increased by 9.5 percent.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the average shopping basket price in brick-and-mortar stores amounted to 268.5 zloty. It was 47 zloty lower than when buying products online. Despite the rapidly rising prices, Poland is still one of the countries in Europe where the costs of essential products are much cheaper than in the European Union. For comparison, prices of food products in 2022 were nearly 27 percent more affordable than the EU average, and for household maintenance, Poles paid even 60 percent less.
