The interest your money needed just to keep its purchasing power, by period and country, using official inflation data.
Key findings
- To keep your purchasing power in Spain over the 10 years to September 2026, your money needed to earn at least 2.94% a year after tax and fees.
- Over the last 5 years the bar rose to 4.35% in Spain and 4.36% in the euro area, because of the 2021–2023 price surge.
- A savings account paying 2% a year would have fallen behind Spanish prices in 17 of the 29 full years since 1997.
How we calculated it
The minimum interest rate to keep your purchasing power is the inflation rate over the period: if your money earns less, it buys less at the end than at the start. We calculate it as the compound annual rise in prices over the last 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 years to September 2026, using Eurostat's HICP and, for the United States, the BLS CPI-U. It is the return you needed after tax and fees: if interest is taxed, the gross rate you need is higher.
The minimum rate by period
| Area | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years | 20 years | 30 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euro area | 3.77% | 4.36% | 2.92% | 2.20% | 2.10% |
| European Union | 3.77% | 4.82% | 3.29% | 2.50% | 2.29% |
| Germany | 3.26% | 4.49% | 3.10% | 2.30% | 1.99% |
| Spain | 4.96% | 4.35% | 2.94% | 2.19% | 2.41% |
| France | 3.42% | 3.54% | 2.51% | 1.90% | 1.82% |
| Ireland | 3.83% | 3.98% | 2.44% | 1.50% | 2.03% |
| Italy | 4.17% | 4.30% | 2.62% | 2.09% | 2.16% |
| Netherlands | 3.05% | 5.04% | 3.47% | 2.42% | 2.41% |
| Portugal | 3.63% | 4.51% | 2.61% | 1.97% | 2.25% |
| United States | 3.74% | 4.20% | 3.39% | 2.57% | 2.56% |
Annual return needed to keep purchasing power over each period, ending September 2026. United States in dollars.
Inflation, month by month
Inflation over the previous 12 months in Spain and the euro area. For many years it hovered around 2%, dipping below zero in 2009, between 2014 and 2016 and in 2020 (in Spain, until early 2021), until the surge that began in 2021.
Year by year
| Year | Spain | Euro area | United States |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.0% | 2.0% | 2.7% |
| 2024 | 2.8% | 2.4% | 2.9% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | 2.9% | 3.4% |
| 2022 | 5.5% | 9.2% | 6.5% |
| 2021 | 6.6% | 5.0% | 7.0% |
| 2020 | −0.6% | −0.3% | 1.4% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | 1.3% | 2.3% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.9% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | 1.3% | 2.1% |
| 2016 | 1.4% | 1.1% | 2.1% |
| 2015 | −0.1% | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| 2014 | −1.1% | −0.2% | 0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | 0.8% | 1.5% |
| 2012 | 3.0% | 2.2% | 1.7% |
| 2011 | 2.4% | 2.8% | 3.0% |
| 2010 | 2.9% | 2.2% | 1.5% |
| 2009 | 0.9% | 0.9% | 2.7% |
| 2008 | 1.5% | 1.6% | 0.1% |
| 2007 | 4.3% | 3.1% | 4.1% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | 1.9% | 2.5% |
| 2005 | 3.7% | 2.2% | 3.4% |
| 2004 | 3.3% | 2.3% | 3.3% |
| 2003 | 2.7% | 2.0% | 1.9% |
| 2002 | 4.0% | 2.3% | 2.4% |
| 2001 | 2.5% | 2.0% | 1.6% |
| 2000 | 4.0% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
| 1999 | 2.8% | 1.7% | 2.7% |
| 1998 | 1.3% | 0.8% | 1.6% |
| 1997 | 1.9% | 1.5% | 1.7% |
December-to-December inflation: the rate you would have needed that year just to stand still.
What it means for you
Always compare what an account, deposit or fund pays with this figure, after tax. If you are offered 2% and inflation runs at 3%, your balance grows but buys less every year. For money you will need soon, losing a little to inflation can be the price of keeping it safe; for long-term money, it pays to look for something that beats it.