The price of pizza in Europe has gone up by 16% on average

Eurostat determined the way inflation has affected this now globally iconic fast food product

Did you know that 9 February is National Pizza Day? So, why not celebrate it with a slice of this beloved delicacy?

And according to Eurostat’s latest report, this year you’d have to dig deeper in your wallet to afford some of this doughy-cheesy goodness. Statistics show that the 2022 inflation surge in the EU has caused the price for store-bought pizzas and quiches to go up a whopping 16 per cent.

This is quite dizzying given the fact that the inflation rate for these products in 2021 (compared to a year before) was a mere 2%!

Among the EU countries, the highest increase in annual inflation for pizza and quiche was recorded in Hungary (+46% in December 2022 compared with December 2021), followed by Lithuania (+39%) and Bulgaria (+37%).

In the chart below you can see how all the EU/EEA countries have fared in terms of pizza price hikes. Surprisingly or not, Italy – pizza’s homeland – has managed to maintain decent control of the situation. But still, even there the inflation is 10%.

The inflation rate for store-bought pizza and quiche products in the EU/EEA area. Source: Eurostat

When should we celebrate Pizza Day anyway?

If you were wondering though as to why the Day is called “National” and which nation is celebrating it this is where it gets a bit muddled.

Americans (as in those from the USA) are probably the biggest pizza consumers in the world with some 4 billion pies being scarfed down every year there. This is where National Pizza Day also began at the start of this century, yet its exact origins remain murky. Despite the “national” indication many media sources, and even Eurostat have already taken this to be the day when pizza should be celebrated wherever you are.

But hold your horses. The Italians had designated their own day for the food delicacy. And it falls on 17 January to commemorate the day when UNESCO designated pizza as a world cultural heritage asset in 2017. The name of this new national Italian holiday? La Giornata Mondiale della Pizza, or World Pizza Day.