Belarus has had a much higher inflation rate than any country in Europe and the post-Soviet region, according to the National Statistics Committee (Belstat).
In November, consumer prices reportedly rose by 8.1 percent in Belarus against 1.7 percent in Turkey, 0.7 percent in Hungary, 0.6 percent in Kazakhstan, 0.5 percent in Slovakia, 0.4 percent in the Czech Republic, Russia and Spain, 0.3 percent in Bulgaria, 0.2 percent in Lithuania, and 0.1 percent in Estonia. Consumer prices remained unchanged in Germany, Ireland, Latvia and Norway and declined by 0.1 percent in Italy.
The prices of food and soft drinks rose by 6.2 percent in Belarus compared with 3.3 percent in Turkey, 1.6 percent in the Czech Republic, 1.4 percent in Hungary, 1.3 percent in Finland, 1.2 percent in Poland, 0.9 percent in Kazakhstan, 0.7 percent in Italy, 0.6 percent in Estonia, 0.5 percent in Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Russia and Slovakia, 0.4 percent in Germany, and 0.2 percent in Spain. The prices remained unchanged in Ireland, Latvia and Ukraine and declined by 0.6 percent in Norway.
The rates of utility services provided to households increased by 9.1 percent in Belarus, by 0.9 percent in Lithuania, by 0.8 percent in Bulgaria and Norway, by 0.6 percent in the Czech Republic and Turkey, by 0.5 percent in Italy, by 0.4 percent in Kazakhstan, by 0.3 percent in Germany and Hungary, by 0.2 percent in Russia and Spain, and by 0.1 percent in Ireland and Slovakia. Utility rates decreased by 0.1 percent in Estonia and Ukraine, by 0.2 percent in Latvia, and by 0.4 percent in Finland.
