Trump claims there is “almost no inflation” – but how does the U.S. compare to other countries?

Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that “every price is down,” and that the United States has “almost no inflation,” according to CNN.

The outlet fact-checked the President’s claims and concluded that they were false.

According to data from Trading Economics, inflation in the U.S. was 3% in September, up 0.1 percentage points from 2.9% in August.

But inflation in itself is not a warning sign. The Federal Reserve actually has a target of 2%, as inflation is deemed unavoidable in modern economics.

So there is still inflation in the U.S. — but is it higher or lower than in other countries?

Note: We compare inflation from September, as the U.S. cancelled the October CPI inflation report due to the prolonged government shutdown. The latest official data available is therefore from September.

Canada and Mexico

North of the U.S., inflation in Canada was 2.4% in September, according to Trading Economics.

South of the border, Mexico experienced 3.76% inflation in September, according to the same source.

The UK and the Eurozone

Across the pond, in the United Kingdom, consumers have faced inflation above 3% since April 2025.

In September, the inflation rate was 3.8%, according to Trading Economics.

In the Eurozone (European nations that use the euro), annual inflation was significantly lower than in the U.S., hitting 2.2%, according to Euronews.

The Eurozone includes countries such as Germany and France.

Australia, New Zealand and Japan

Down Under, annual inflation in Australia for the year to the September 2025 quarter was 3.2%, according to ABC News Australia.

In New Zealand, annual inflation in the 12 months to the September 2025 quarter was 3.0%, according to Stats NZ.

North of the two nations, Japan experienced an inflation rate of 2.9% in September, according to CNBC.

So what does it actually mean?

Inflation is the rate at which the general price level of goods and services in an economy increases over time, which decreases the purchasing power of money. When inflation is high, you need more money to buy the same amount of goods and services as you did in the past.

However, inflation is not the same as specific prices going up. According to Equifax, inflation refers to simultaneous and continued price increases across the board.

So the bottom line is that Trump is not correct when he says that the U.S. has “almost no inflation,” as the rate is higher than the target set by the Federal Reserve.

That being said, inflation is unavoidable, so it is borderline impossible to have no inflation at all.

And inflation in the U.S. is lower than in some of the other countries that the U.S. is usually compared to.

Sources: Federal Reserve, CNN, Trading Economics, CNBC, Stats NZ, ABC News Australia, Euronews

This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation