Revised CPI standard basket, new property stats and advances in digitalisation
Neuchâtel, 13.02.2026 — The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has updated its price statistics. Since the beginning of 2026, the updated structures better reflect current market trends, building on the previous revision carried out in 2020. By the end of 2026, the statistics will include new data on changes in property ownership. A property price index for multi-family houses will be published at the end of 2027.
Price indices are key economic indicators for economic and monetary policy and for indexing values (e.g. to adjust salaries, pensions, contracts and budgets). The standard baskets and structures of the Consumer Price Index, the Producer and Import Price Index and the Construction Price Index have been completely updated. Data digitalisation is progressing and the range of information available online continues to grow.
Price statistics are used to index amounts in the hundreds of millions of francs, providing key data that feeds into the country’s economic and monetary policy. Every five years, these indices are thoroughly reviewed and updated to keep them relevant and ensure they accurately reflect the current conditions. This process updates all of the goods and services using the latest data, while adapting data collection sources and methods to boost quality and reduce the burden on data providers.
Complete overhaul of the consumer price basket
Starting in 2026, new products have been included in the standard basket of the Consumer Price Index: non-animal milk, electric kick scooters, electric car charging stations, camper vans, funeral services and long-term care. This updated standard basket is structured in line with the new international nomenclature, COICOP 2018, which classifies and ranks household spending according to a coherent and up-to-date system.
There are now 13 main groups instead of 12, following the introduction of a separate group for spending on private insurance and financial services. Transport and communications have undergone a fundamental restructuring to reflect digital developments. Implementing this new nomenclature is crucial to ensure international comparability.
More electronic data and government data
In the Consumer Price Index, use of electronic data (checkout scanner data and estate agent data) has been extended to cover more retailers and estate agents. Internet price surveys are being stepped up and automated on around 60 websites, in line with changes in private household consumption patterns.
The Producer Price Index has expanded its use of customs data to the organic chemicals sector, enabling it to monitor changes in export prices. This data has been used for pharmaceutical specialities since 2020.
eBAP is a project that uses digital data from the award of contracts in the construction sector. Ultimately, this will drastically reduce the administrative burden on companies and enable the collection of a greater number of prices and variables. Initial data is currently being transmitted through site management software.
Real estate: changes of ownership and multi-family houses
How many property transactions take place each year in Switzerland, broken down by canton, type of property and type of transaction? The use of annual land register data will make it possible to answer these questions from December 2026, when results for the years 2017 to 2025 are published for the first time. This new statistical product, intended primarily to determine the coverage of the sample for the Property Price Index, is also likely to be of interest to economic, political and real estate stakeholders.
At the end of 2027, the current Property Price Index will be complemented by an annual price index for multi-family houses (apartment building transactions). Transaction prices will be obtained from the land registers, while structural and location variables will be sourced from the Federal Register of Buildings and Dwellings and from geolocation data. This will broaden the FSO’s coverage to include a major additional segment of the real estate market and part of the investment property sector.
Price statistics : why produce them, how and what for?
Price indices are used to index salaries, child maintenance, pensions, rents, contract fees, budgets and estimates, and therefore have a real monetary impact on economic stakeholders. The methods used to calculate these indices and how they are applied are as important as the results themselves.
For several years now, the FSO has been encouraging statistical literacy around online price indices through explanimations (Price statistics in brief, The Producer Price Index, The Consumer Price Index) and videos (The FSO explains the CPI, standard basket and inflation, How does the Consumer Price Index work? Understanding inflation in Switzerland), explanations of how price indices are used (What are price indices for? CPI user tips) and updates about projects (Revisions). The 2025 revision is no exception, with the 2025 revision of price indices in three minutes, What is webscraping? and the eBAP data collection explainer.
This press release and further information on the topic can be found on the FSO website.