New classification will be adopted in the Consumer Price Index at the beginning of next year
NewsThe new Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) will be adopted in the Consumer Price Index in January 2026. This will cause breaks in the time series of the Consumer Price Index, for example.
The international Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose COICOP was updated worldwide during 2016 to 2018 and it was confirmed in 2018. Therefore, the new version is called COICOP2018.
The classification will be introduced in four statistical topics in all countries of the world during 2020 to 2029. In Finland, the classification was adopted in Statistics Finland's Household Budget Survey in 2024. It will be adopted in private consumption expenditure in national accounts in September 2025 and in the Consumer Price Index at the beginning of 2026.
We have compiled information on changes in the COICOP classification and their effects on the Consumer Price Index:
1. What is the COICOP classification?
COICOP is an international reference classification of households' expenditure which aims to offer a standardised structure and hierarchy for the products and services consumed by households. The hierarchy comprises 15 divisions under which products and services are grouped according to purpose of use. The Consumer Price Index will use the first 13 of these divisions. There are four hierarchical levels: division, group, class and subclass.
Each product or service is linked to the most appropriate subclass in the classification. The classification is used in different work stages of statistics compilation, such as data collection, establishing weights, index calculation and releasing statistics.
2. Why did the UN start revising COICOP1999?
The previous classification had been in use for nearly 20 years without change and its content was partly outdated. Over the decades, new products and services have entered the market, and as a result, households' consumption habits have altered. In the old classification products and services were mixed, so the aim was to form a systematic structure for presenting them as logical wholes. In its inaccuracy, the product and service division of the old classification did not meet the needs of data users.
All these changes were to be taken into account in COICOP, for which reason it was decided to update the 1999 classification in 2016.
3. Is the new classification used in statistical institutes all over the world?
It is a global classification, so the classification is meant to be used by all statistical institutes in the production of the Consumer Price Index.
A Europe-wide version of the classification is prepared where, for example, the subclass Meat in the food group is divided into more specific commodities. The aim is to ensure that the commodities needed for comparisons between EU Member States are included in a specified manner.
If required, Member States can prepare a national version of the classification in which the common structure is supplemented with national detailed level commodities. An example of a subdivision on the national level is the subclass New motor cars, which is divided into new fossil fuel cars, hybrid cars and electric cars.
4. Does the adoption of the new classification have any effects on the compilation of the Consumer Price Index?
Yes. The transition to the new classification will have the following effects:
- The classification of products and services follows the new classification requirements. For example, computers are currently classified into division 09 Recreation, sport and culture, while in the new classification they are classified into division 08 Information and communication.
- New service commodities are introduced, e.g. home delivery of purchases.
- The new classification includes a new division, as the current division 12 Other goods and services is split into two: 12 Insurance and financial services and 13 Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services.
- There will be breaks in the time series of the Consumer Price Index.
5. The adoption of the new classification causes a break in the time series, as the present classification changes essentially. Are time series made for the users of the statistics so that they need not compile them by themselves?
Yes. The aim is to offer national users a time series for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 1995 to 2025 by at least division and class. For comparison between EU Member States, time series for the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) and the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices at Constant Taxes (HICP-CT) are produced for 1995 to 2025 by division and class. The indices for 2012 to 2025 are available according to subclass levels.
Further information will be provided about the effects of the changes on the weight structure of the Consumer Price Index and on the produced index towards the end of this year.
Further information about COICOP:
Eurostat's classification version: ECOICOP (version 2)