CPI stands for Consumer Price Index. It is an indicator developed by the National Institute of Statistics in order to calculate monthly the evolution of inflation.

Consumption variations are measured in the set of goods and services (“family basket”) that a family acquires regularly in a certain period of time, comparing it with a previous sample.

What is the CPI used for?

The uses are usually:

• Inflation indicator (knowing that the CPI does not include the prices of companies’ intermediate consumption or exported goods).

• For the calculation of national accounts (or national accounting) and other statistics.

• Wealth and cost of living meter. One of the consequences of this use is the annual review of salaries and wages to adapt them to the real cost of living.

CPI in Spain

In Spain, the CPI is calculated monthly by the National Institute of Statistics.

The CPI for the year 2016 (annual) was 1.6%.

We hope this information is very useful to you.