Inflation “50% Lower Than the EU”? With Mickoski’s Own Figures the Gap Is 19–21%, and With September’s 29% — Why the Exact Number Matters
On September 29 Skopje1 reported that Mickoski claims inflation is “50% lower” than the European; the figures he cited give a gap of about 19–21%, and with September (2.7% versus 3.8%) about 29%.
According to Skopje1 on September 29, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski claimed inflation in Macedonia is “50% lower” than in the EU. As proof he cited the data for July (2.3% versus 2.9% in Europe) and August (2.6% versus 3.2%). With those figures, the gap is not 50% but about 21% in July (2.3 instead of 2.9) and about 19% in August (2.6 instead of 3.2). Meanwhile, the text uses “Europe” and “EU” as if they were the same, which makes the comparison incomplete.
With September’s figures the picture is more favorable for Macedonia. The State Statistical Office announced annual inflation in September is 2.7%, and Euronews writes that eurozone inflation is 3.8%, a three-year high. That is a gap of 1.1 percentage points, or a rate about 29% lower than the eurozone’s. So Macedonia still has lower inflation, but not “by half,” at least by these two figures.
Two notes. First, 3.8% is a figure for the eurozone, not for the whole EU, and it is preliminary; final September data were expected on October 16. Second, lower inflation does not mean lower prices: as we wrote about the union basket of 69,432 denars, households feel price rises differently from the average. The accurate wording, “about a third lower” instead of “half,” does not change the political message but makes it verifiable.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 17, 2026
