RSS
Eurostat: The individual consumption of the Romanians is equal to that of the Poles and over that of the Greeks
Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) is a measure of material welfare of households. Based on first preliminary estimates for 2019, the year before COVID-19 containment measures began to be widely introduced by Member States, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) varied from 59% to 135% ofthe European Union (EU) average across the 27 Member States.
Nine Member States recorded AIC per capita above the EU average in 2019. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, 35% above the EU average. Germany was around 23% above, followed by Austria, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and France, which all recorded levels between 5% and 20% above the EU average.
AIC per capita for twelve Member States lay between the EU average and 25% below. In Italy, Ireland, Cyprus, Spain and Lithuania the levels were 10% or less below the EU average, while Portugal, Czechia, Slovenia and Malta were between 10% and 20% below. Poland, Romania and Greece were between 20% and 25% below the EU average.
Six Member States recorded AIC per capita 25% or more below the EU average. Estonia was 25% below, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungaryand Croatiabetween 25% and 35% below, while Bulgariahad AIC per capita 41% below the EU average.
GDP per capita ranged from 53% of EU average in Bulgaria to 261% in Luxembourg
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, a measure of economic activity, also shows substantial differences between the EU Member States. In 2019, GDP per capita expressed in PPS ranged between 53% of the EU average in Bulgaria and 261% in Luxembourg. Ten Member States recorded a level of GDP per capita above the EU average in 2019.