Weight structure and commodity basket of the Consumer Price Index updated for the year 2025

Weight structure

The weight structure of the Consumer Price Index 2025 is based on national accounts calculations on private consumption expenditure according to EU guidelines. Private consumption expenditure for 2024 included in the national accounts by quarter forms the basis for the weight structure of the Consumer Price Index for 4-digit and 5-digit levels. The weight structure of the sub-categories (6-digit and 7-digit categories) is estimated on the basis of other reliable sources, such as the data on Household Budget Survey 2022, data of other producers of official statistics of Finland (OSF), sales data of enterprises and data of other actors.

The value of the consumption basket of the Consumer Price Index was about EUR 130 billion in 2024, while it was around EUR 131 billion in 2023. The year-on-year change in private consumption expenditure was -0.8 per cent.

Figure shows the distribution of the weight structure of private consumption by main commodity group for the statistical reference year 2025. The main commodity groups cover all products and services belonging to private consumption, excluding narcotic substances, prostitution and financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM).

Over one-half, 53.7 per cent, of the weight of the Consumer Price Index consists of consumption of housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and transport. Consumption on education, communication, and clothing and footwear is lowest. Their share of total consumption was 7.0 per cent.

The biggest changes in consumption compared to the previous year were in education (division 10), which grew by 14.7 per cent, communications (division 08) which grew by 8.0 per cent and in clothing and footwear (division 03), up 7.6 per cent.

Consumption decreased most in health products and services (division 06), by almost 14 per cent, and household furniture, equipment and household services (division 05), by 11.5 per cent compared to the previous year.

The long-term comparison between 1995 and 2025 shows changes in consumption shares over decades.

The share of division 04 Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels in total consumption is 28.8 per cent, having been slightly under 20 per cent in 1995.

Since 1995, the consumption share of transport has fallen from 15.6 to below 12 per cent, while the consumption share of recreation and culture has dropped from 12.4 to under 10 per cent. The consumption of food and non-alcoholic beverages has remained at around 13 per cent over the past ten years.

Commodity basket

The calculation of the Consumer Price Index is based on a commodity basket that is updated annually along with changes taking place in consumption. New commodities are added to the commodity basket if their annual consumption value is at least one per mil of total consumption. Correspondingly, commodities whose value share has fallen under one per mil of total consumption may be removed from the commodity basket. With the help of the annually updated commodity basket, the inclusion of representative products and services in the Index is ensured.

At the beginning of 2025, no new commodities were added to the basket. Due to low consumption, cigars, football match, ice hockey match and single copy of a newspaper and magazine were removed from the price collection.

In addition to updating the commodity sample, the content of the commodity basket is continuously updated as concerns individual products selected to the collection. From the beginning of 2025, nicotine pouches were added into the group of other tobacco products.

Outlet sample

The outlet sample is reviewed annually to ensure the representativeness and timeliness of the sample. At the beginning of 2025, the outlet sample of passenger transport by taxi was updated, among others. In addition to the sample update, the establishment-specific weights used in index calculation are checked annually.

Data collection

The use of scanner data was extended to new sales data concerning consumer durables. At the beginning of 2025, coffee makers, vacuum cleaners and microwave ovens were included in the index calculation. As a result of this update, interviewer data collections will be reduced correspondingly and replaced by more automated data collection and processing.

Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose

The European Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (eCOICOP) introduced in 2016 is used in the definition of commodities. The classification is based on the UN’s Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose.

In the European classification, the commodities are divided into 5-digit level sub-groups, by which the products and services are separated into specific commodity groups. The Finnish national classification specifies the European classification with 6-digit and 7-digit commodity groups. The sub-division is revised annually when new commodities are added to the commodity basket or removed from it.

A revised Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP2018) will be globally adopted at the beginning of 2026. The timetable for the introduction and a draft of the new international classification are available in Finnish on the COICOP2018 website.

Weight structure of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices is also updated every year

Statistics Finland has also updated the weight structure of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices calculated for Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union. Its base year is the same as that of the national Consumer Price Index, 2015=100.

The Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices are mainly used as a general measure of inflation in comparisons of inflation between EU countries and in evaluating the financial stability of the European Central Bank.

The Finnish Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices is mainly based on the same weight and price data as the national Consumer Price Index, but its commodity selection is narrower. It does not include owner-occupancy, games of chance, interests and tax-like payments. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices covers 83.7 per cent of the national Consumer Price Index.

Compared to the previous year, the consumption expenditure share, or weighting in the index, of the excluded items increased most for interests on consumer credit (26.0 per cent) and fire insurance premium of detached house (12.5 per cent).

The weight of games of chance decreased 42.8 per cent from the previous year.

The European Central Bank has cut the interest rates on housing loans and consumer credits a few times during 2024. Interest rates on housing loans belong to owner-occupied housing (group 04.6) in the commodity classification of the Consumer Price Index.

Checking of tax tables

Commodity-specific tax tables are checked and updated annually for the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices at Constant Taxes (HICP-CT). The tax table takes into account value added taxes and excise duties. At the beginning of 2025, the tax rates were updated for the following commodities:

1. Tax on spirits (increase in excise duty )

2. Disposable nappies, menstrual hygiene and incontinence pads (decrease in VAT)

3. Products and services subject to the 10 per cent value added tax rate became subject to the 14 per cent value added tax rate, with the exception of newspapers and magazines

The tax rates are adjusted during the year if the tax rate of the commodity is changed mid-way through the year.

The data of January 2025 for the Consumer Price Index has been published in the release.