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Spain ended 2025 with a gentler rise in prices, offering a small relief to households over Christmas after a year of steady inflation. The final Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December shows the cost of living went up by 2.9% compared to the same month in 2024, slightly below November’s 3%.

 

The change was largely driven by cheaper petrol but food costs continued to climb, rising by 3% over the year.

 

Looking at the whole of 2025, the average cost of living across Spain increased by 2.7%, almost the same as in 2024. Some items saw bigger hikes than others. Housing and household bills, including water, electricity and gas, jumped by a whopping 6.2%, much more than the 3.6% increase recorded in 2024.

 

Hotels and restaurants also became noticeably more expensive, rising 4.3% overall. Alcohol and tobacco cost 3.8% more, while education-related expenses were up 2.5%.

 

As we’ve sadly now come to expect, food saw some of the sharpest price movements. Chocolate shot up by 20%, coffee by 18%, eggs by 17.5%, other cooking oils by 16.7%, beef by 14.4%, and lamb and goat by just over 10%.

 

The good news for olive oil lovers is that its price fell by almost 39% after surging in 2024. Other areas such as health, communications, leisure, furniture, transport and clothing recorded smaller increases, mostly under 2%.

 

Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like energy and fresh food, ended 2025 at 2.3%, edging closer to the European Central Bank’s target of 2%. Average salaries rose around 3% last year, giving some workers a modest boost in purchasing power, with another minimum wage bump for 2026 now on the table.

 

The Region of Murcia stood out as one of the areas where inflation eased the most. In December, Murcia recorded a CPI of 2.4%, the lowest in Spain, reflecting smaller price rises in housing, restaurants and education. Alcohol and tobacco in the Region increased by 4.7% and housing costs by 4.5%, while restaurants and hotels rose 4.3% and education 3.3%. Clothing and footwear were the only category to fall in price, down 0.4%.

 

The difference in the cost of living across the country is immense, though. Madrid saw the highest inflation at 3.7%, followed by the Valencian Community at 3.2%, while Catalonia and La Rioja had 2.5% and 2.6% respectively. Murcia’s lower rate shows residents there faced less pressure on their wallets compared to most of Spain.

 

 

Image: Freepik