CBS prices: inflation, fuel and energy
Which Statistics Netherlands (CBS) series we use for inflation, pump prices and energy tariffs, how often they update and what provisional means.
For inflation, old fuel prices and energy prices we use figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek). This article explains which series these are, how often they update and what provisional means.
The consumer price index
The consumer price index (CPI) shows how the prices of everything households buy change on average. With the CPI we convert a price from the past into today's money: the price then times today's index, divided by the index then. We use four series from the CBS:
| Series | What | From |
|---|---|---|
| CPI 2025=100 (86141NED) | the index per month and per year | December 2009 |
| CPI 2015=100 (83131NED) | the same index on an older base; the CBS no longer updates it | January 1996 to 2025 inclusive |
| Price index 1900=100 (71905ned) | one index per year, which the CBS has linked from older series | 1900 |
| CPI per base year (83136NED) | every series the CBS has made since 1969, each with its own base year | annual figures from 1969, monthly figures from January 1970 |
- For the months before December 2009 we convert the old series to the same base (2025=100). Where both series exist, they then differ by less than 0.1 per cent.
- The yearly index since 1900 is extended by the CBS each February with the year before. Before 1996 that series is an approximation.
- Index an amount with the CPI (Dutch edition only) calculates exactly like the CBS calculation tool (in Dutch), with the series per base year. For contracts, the CBS guidance on using CPI series for indexation (in Dutch) sometimes points to a different series. If that gives a different result, we show both.
Pump prices
- Per day (80416ned): the average pump price of Euro95 (petrol), diesel and LPG in the Netherlands, including excise duty and VAT, from 1 January 2006. The CBS compiles it with Travelcard BV, as a weighted average of almost all filling stations. The CBS updates the series every week.
- Per quarter (84991NED): the same fuels, plus CNG and the price of charging at a charging point per kWh, from 2020. A quarter appears about two months after it ends.
- Guide prices (7521): from 1913 to 2009 inclusive; after that the series stopped. A guide price (adviesprijs) is something different from what was paid at the pump. We therefore never combine the two into one series.
Prices per petrol station are not public. Find a Petrol Station in the Netherlands therefore shows the national average.
Home energy tariffs
Table 85592NED gives, per month from January 2021, the average tariffs for electricity and gas at home, including VAT.
Dutch Electricity and Gas Prices Then and Now works with the price of one extra kWh or m³: the variable supply tariff plus energy tax plus the sustainable energy surcharge (ODE, opslag duurzame energie). Fixed supply costs, network charges and the energy tax reduction are not included. Those are paid per year, not per kWh.
- ODE. The sustainable energy surcharge existed up to and including 2022. Since 2023 it has been part of the energy tax.
- 2023 price cap. For 2023 we also show the price with the price cap. That was a maximum price of €0.40 per kWh up to 2,900 kWh and €1.45 per m³ up to 1,200 m³ per year, up to and including 2023.
What provisional means
The CBS sometimes calls the newest figures provisional. For the CPI the newest month is a quick estimate, which sometimes has no index figure yet. For the energy tariffs the last month is provisional, and for the quarterly prices the last quarter of CNG and charging. We then add provisional. We fetch everything again every day, so a provisional figure becomes final by itself.
How often we update
We fetch all series from the CBS completely anew every day. The CBS itself updates the daily pump prices weekly, the CPI and the energy tariffs monthly and the quarterly prices about two months after the quarter ends. A new figure therefore appears only after the CBS publishes it. We check whether all columns are still there and whether the counts are right. If something is wrong, the previous figures stay in place. If a series falls behind more than normal, we get an email.
Licence and source
The CBS publishes these figures under CC BY 4.0. Every result shows the source: Source: CBS, and for pump prices Source: CBS, Travelcard BV. The CBS is not involved in our tools.
Tools with these figures
- Dutch Inflation by Year since 1900
- Dutch Money Then and Now: Guilders and Euros
- Index an amount with the CPI (Dutch edition only)
- Dutch Fuel Price on a Date
- Dutch Electricity and Gas Prices Then and Now
- Dutch Fuel Costs per Year
- Dutch Full Tank Then and Now
- Dutch Trip Fuel Cost Then and Now
- Inflation Calculator: here you enter a percentage yourself. This calculator does not fetch any CBS figures.
Which of these prices are already filled in in the calculators is described in Live prices in the calculators. How we update and monitor the data is described in How we keep everything current.
The Sumish editorial team
More guides
- How we workHow we keep everything currentWhich data updates itself, which rates we check by hand every year and what Last reviewed means on a tool.
- DataThe RDW vehicle dataWhere the Dutch Number Plate Check and the other car tools get their data, how often we update it and why we show nothing about owners.
- DataCurrent prices in the calculatorsWhich price is already filled in for fuel, charging and energy, which CBS series it comes from and what happens when it is not available.