International price comparison: Classification to be updated
Date of change:Description of new data
The classification used in the International Price Comparison statistics will be updated starting from the 2025 data. The European Comparison Programme (ECP) Has introduced a new Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP2018).
The update will cause changes to the database tables of the statistics. The tables 141u Price level indices by product groups, household consumption expenditure EU27_2020=100) and 12yb Price level index for household final consumption expenditure (EU27_2020=100) will be archived on 18 June 2026 in connection with the publication of the international price comparison 2025 release. They will be replaced by database tables 15cs and 15dx, which cover the same content using the new classification starting
from 2022.
Eurostat, which coordinates the study, publishes the results at a fairly aggregated level, so the impact of the classification update on the applicable categories and results will remain moderate. The key changes are:
- Under the previous classification, postal services were included in the former division 08 Communication (in the new classification: 08 Information and communication). In the new classification, they are part of division 07 Transport.
- Computers and consumer electronics were previously classified under division 09 Culture and recreation (in the new classification: 09 Recreation, sport and culture). Under the new classification, they are placed in the updated division 08 Information and communication.
The International Price Comparison is a time-specific, cross-sectional study in which the product basket and participating countries have varied over time. Therefore, comparing data from different years is not recommended.
What is the COICOP classification?
COICOP is an international reference classification of household expenditure designed to provide a standardised structure and hierarchy for the goods and services consumed by households. It is a global classification. The updated classification is called COICOP2018, named after the year when it was finalised.
Why was the classification updated?
The previous classification had been in use for nearly 20 years without changes and had become partially outdated. Over the past decades, new products and services have entered the market and household consumption patterns have evolved. In the old classification, goods and services were sometimes grouped inconsistently. The aim of the update was to create a systematic structure that presents these items as logical, coherent categories.
Database table, identifier and name
See all database tables of the statistics in the StatFin database.