Inflation accelerated remarkably across the EU in 2022 and sports goods and services were no exception, ccording to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In 2022, the annual rate of change for prices of recreational and sporting services in the EU was 4.7% measured by the harmonised indices of consumer prices (HICP), which was the highest value in the last ten years. For the period 2012-2022, the annual average rate of change for these services was 2.2%, indicating a faster increase than that of the all-items HICP (+2.0%).

In 2022, the prices for equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation grew much faster than in the previous years, with the annual rate of change standing at 3.8%, +2.5 percentage points higher than the year before.

Looking back at the last 10 years, prices of equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation showed considerable fluctuations. Annual rates of change fell to negative values in 2014 (-0.6%), then went up again to +0.7% in 2016, to drop again and remain negative between 2017 and 2019. In 2020, they started to increase, reaching their highest value in 2022. Despite the fluctuations, this category recorded a slight increase in the annual rate of change over the years, up by 0.3% on average from 2012-2022.

Tomorrow, 6th April, marks the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, an occasion to acknowledge the importance of sports and physical activity in people’s well-being and communities.