Prices for staples like eggs and milk have been on a rollercoaster ride over the past five years. Food costs have soared in most countries, driven by factors including post-pandemic supply-chain disruption, the war in Ukraine, surging input expenses, climate change and even animal diseases. However, grocery bills have actually fallen in a few nations.

As part of our cost of living series, we've been tracking the prices of essential goods and services around the world. Now, to get an idea of the impact of these increases, we've compared the typical cost of a basket of essentials across selected countries in 2020 and 2025 using data from Numbeo. Read on to discover which nations have experienced the most dramatic food price hikes over the last five years – ranked from lowest to highest – and find out how your country compares.

Data correct as of 19 May 2025.

The world's biggest cost of living database, Numbeo tracks the prices of everyday basics in 151 countries and territories using crowd-sourced data and information from official sources.

We've opted for a basket of essentials containing a litre (1 US quart) of regular milk, a 500-gram (1.1 lb) loaf of fresh white bread and a kilo (2.2 lb) of white rice. We've also thrown in a dozen normal-sized eggs, a kilo (2.2 lb) of local cheese and the same of chicken fillets, bananas, tomatoes, potatoes and onions, along with a 1.5-litre (1.6 US quart) bottle of water. Let's see how prices compare...

Bucking the global trend, China has seen its total price for the basket of basic groceries decline markedly over the past five years. Food inflation spiked following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, reaching 8.8% in September that year. But the figure plunged not long after and has been negative for quite some time. This all boils down to a huge mismatch between supply and demand.

Weak consumer spending amid a sluggish economy has prompted retailers to slash prices, with the trade war with the US only adding to the deflationary pressures.

Food inflation edged up to 6.3% in Switzerland during the early part of 2023, but price rises slowed drastically thereafter, and in 2024, food deflation kicked in.

High existing price levels have acted as a buffer to skyrocketing global food prices, as have the strong franc and Switzerland's dynamic import tariff system, which adjusts to price fluctuations. Low energy consumption in the country's ultra-efficient agricultural sector and a stable energy market have contributed to this price stability, together with conservative pay rises. However, Switzerland's strict food price controls are likely the most crucial factor.

Indonesia's food inflation jumped in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the global price of wheat and other commodities spiked. The number peaked at 9.4% in July 2022.

The cost of basics, especially rice and eggs, shot up again during the 2024 Ramadan season, but price rises have since calmed down, though they did escalate somewhat over this year's holy month. Right now, Indonesia's food inflation figure stands at a moderate 2.2%.

Likewise, grocery prices rose sharply in the UAE following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with food inflation hitting a decade-high of 8.2% in June 2022.

At that point, the nation's government went all out to control the escalating prices, introducing comprehensive price controls on various staples. By September 2022, egg and poultry prices were beginning to fall, and general food inflation has been on a downward trajectory ever since. It actually went into negative territory in January and is currently languishing at -0.3%.

Food inflation attained its post-pandemic zenith in Belgium in March 2023 when the figure surpassed 18%. Price rises then moderated through to July last year when food inflation bottomed out at under 1%. But it's since been on the rise, reaching 2.8% in April.

However, Belgian shoppers haven't endured the same extreme price hikes seen in other European countries, with the basket of essentials up by a not-so-terrible 12.5% over the past five years.

Food prices have gone up and down like a yo-yo in India since 2020. The post-COVID demand spike, the war in Ukraine and other factors like extreme weather have sent prices soaring and plummeting over the past five years.

Food inflation peaked last July, exacerbated by a weak monsoon and climate-change fuelled heatwaves. The good news is price rises have mitigated and the outlook is bright, with the rupee stable, global oil prices relatively low and above-average monsoon rains predicted.

The basket of basics has risen by 17.3% in Ireland since 2020. While the increase isn't modest, it's not excessive for a European country, and factors such as Ireland's membership of the EU and high levels of food security have made for a less steep rise than in the neighbouring UK.

That said, strong demand coupled with limited supply is projected to drive food inflation upwards again in the country after an extended period of decline.

Grocery prices in France mushroomed as a result of the war in Ukraine and other factors like a super-tight labour market. Food inflation reached a post-pandemic high of 15.9% in March 2023.

Thankfully, inflationary pressures eased rapidly in subsequent months. And while the food inflation rate has begun to trend up again, it's currently just 1.2%, a figure that shoppers in many other European nations would be delighted with.

Long accustomed to exceedingly low food inflation, Japanese shoppers have been stung by stiff grocery price rises over the past five years. Besides global events like the war in Ukraine, the weaker yen has made food imports considerably more expensive. Meanwhile, extreme weather events and other natural disasters have impacted domestic agricultural output.

After reaching a post-pandemic peak of 8%, food inflation is proving a sticky problem, with the figure still over 7%. Last year's heatwaves and panic-buying arising from earthquake warnings have constrained supply. Meanwhile, increased tourism is adding to demand and fuelling the steep food price rises.

In contrast, food inflation in Singapore is significantly lower now than it was at its post-pandemic peak in the early part of 2023, when the figure surpassed 8%. It's now only 1.3%.

The number dropped as the global food supply improved following the shock of the Ukraine war and other geopolitical headwinds. But the damage has been done, and Singapore's shoppers are paying 17.9% more for the basket of basics compared to 2020.

Italians have faced substantial grocery price hikes over the past five years. Food inflation stood at over 13% at the end of 2022 and the early part of 2023. At one point, an unofficial nationwide 'pasta strike' was planned as prices for the essential went ballistic.

The protest was called off as food inflation softened through the rest of 2023, but the rate has been on the rise again, with a figure of 3.2% recorded in April, up from the post-pandemic low of 0.9% last August.

South African shoppers must be breathing a collective sigh of relief. Food inflation in the country has been below 3% since November, a far cry from the post-COVID peak of 14% recorded in March 2023.

The easing of the load-shedding energy crisis, lower fuel prices and a stronger rand have all contributed to the fall, as have better local weather conditions and lower global wheat prices. But, given the past price increases, the poorest South Africans are still struggling to afford the bare necessities.

Spain has been hammered by post-pandemic inflation and the global food price shock triggered by the war in Ukraine. Food inflation escalated in 2022 and raced past 16% in the early part of 2023. The rate then slowed and has now settled down to a reassuring 2%. But Spanish shoppers are still feeling the pinch in a major way.

For instance, olive oil, while not in our basket, is a key essential in Spain. Its price has jumped by a whopping 60% since 2020, due in part to disappointing drought-stricken olive harvests and surging production costs.

Food inflation was one of the leading hot-button issues in the 2024 presidential election and continues to be a significant concern for American households. Driven by factors like post-pandemic supply-chain issues and the war in Ukraine, the rate peaked at a painful 11.4% in August 2022. It then settled down, falling to 2.1% last October but edged up to 3% by March, though the figure dropped to 2.8% in April.

Egg prices have seen the most drastic rises, as bird flu has decimated the nation's laying hens. According to Numbeo, the cost of a dozen has soared by over 81%. And while egg prices are finally coming down, the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs on food prices could be significant.

Over the past five years, food inflation in Australia was at its worst in the last quarter of 2022 when the rate topped out at 9.2% amid the trade fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Price rises have since slowed but food inflation is decidedly sticky at over 3%. In the meantime, Australia's food supply has been negatively affected by challenges including Cyclone Alfred, which battered fruit crops, and a series of bird flu outbreaks. Egg prices have more than doubled in two years as a consequence.

Food inflation reached a post-pandemic high of 19.1% in the UK in March 2023. The incessant price rises abated throughout the rest of 2023, and last October the nation's food inflation rate fell to 2.1%. The figure has since climbed to 2.8% and could creep up further as retailers grapple with increased costs.

Research from the London School of Economics and other top universities shows that Brexit is to blame for a third of the UK's post-COVID inflation. Looking ahead, the UK's new trade deal with the EU should mitigate some of these Brexit-related food price pressures.

The Filipino government has got grocery prices under control after pulling out all the stops to lower costs for shoppers. Food inflation topped 10% at the end of 2022 and the start of 2023, and spiked again in 2024. Yet the rate is now a tiny 0.9%.

Actions taken by the government have included caps on rice and pork prices, food stamps for the poor and increased farming subsidies, as well as other measures to boost domestic food security.

Canada's food inflation topped out at 10.4% in January 2023 and eventually dipped to -0.6% at the start of this year. But the rate has since zipped up and stood at 3.2% in April.

The weak Canadian dollar is the leading culprit since it's made food imports more expensive. But the biggest concern is a widening of President Trump's tariffs, which threaten to send food prices soaring.

The basket of basics has risen by 27.3% in New Zealand over the past five years. The heftiest price hikes were in June 2023 when food inflation peaked at 12.5%. It eventually went negative last June but has since been on the climb.

The figure is now flirting with 5%. Increased import costs and heightened demand for the nation's agricultural exports, which are constraining supplies at home, are among the reasons behind this latest surge.

Food inflation in Malaysia hit a post-pandemic high of 7.3% in November 2022, worsened by the war in Ukraine and a weak ringgit. The rate trended down until last summer, dropping to 1.6%. The figure has since climbed to 2.5%, with the country's long-suffering poor especially impacted.

Illustrating the extent of the price rises is the cost of the ingredients for nasi lemak, Malaysia's national dish, which includes eggs and rice. It has almost doubled in price during the past decade, with the majority of the increases coming over the last five years.

Turbo-charged by the war in Ukraine, severe drought and other supply disruptions, food prices in Mexico have ballooned since 2020. But at 3.7% the current food inflation rate is a lot better than it was in October 2022, when it reached almost 15%.

A driving factor in the slowdown has been the government's reintroduction of price controls last November. In any case, Mexico is only one of two countries in the international Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in this round-up that has seen positive real wage growth since 2021, so the impact of higher food prices has been offset by inflated pay levels.

The economic repercussions of the war in Ukraine have been felt acutely in Germany, contributing significantly to the 43.3% surge in the cost of the basket of basics over the past half-decade.

In March 2023, food inflation smashed long-held records when it careened past the 20% mark. Fortunately, that budget-busting rate didn't last long, and the figure had sunk to almost 0% last year. But it's since climbed to 3.8%, due partly to increased input costs for food suppliers.

Germany's neighbour Austria has witnessed similarly rampant food inflation over the past five years, for similar reasons. The rate touched a record 17% in January 2023. And while it ended up falling to 1% by December 2024, the figure re-accelerated during the early part of this year and now sits at 2.9%.

On the bright side, Austria is the other of only two OECD countries in this round-up that has enjoyed positive real wage growth since 2021, meaning Austrian shoppers have generally felt less pain than their German counterparts.

Food inflation in Brazil reached a high of 15.9% during the pandemic and bottomed out at under half a percentage point in October 2023. It has since returned with a vengeance, fluctuating around the 7% mark for the last few months.

Last year's drought put upward pressure on food costs. And while this year's harvest has been record-breaking, a marked upswing in exports has led to lower domestic availability, with prices rising as a result.

Russia's food prices have hit the roof since President Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. An overheated war economy, together with international sanctions and other issues such as extreme weather events and severe staff shortages have led to spiralling grocery bills.

Try as it might, the Russian government hasn't been able to put a lid on the runaway price rises. The nation's food inflation rate is down from its peak of 20.5% in April 2022 but the current figure remains alarmingly high at 12.7%.

Argentina has endured the world's worst food inflation these past five years. The rate accelerated to a staggering 308.3% in March 2024 after President Milei's government controversially lifted food price controls. It has since fallen back, but remains astonishingly high at 41.4%.

It's important to note the Numbeo prices for Argentina are in US dollars. Prices in Argentinian pesos have likely increased by a far greater percentage due to the pronounced devaluation of the currency since 2020.

Now discover the countries paying the most and least for eggs, and why