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Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland on top
statistikk
2014-12-12T10:00:00.000Z
Prices and price indices
en
ppp, Comparison of price levels in Europe, gross domestic growth, volume index, personal consumption, price level adjusted GDP, price level index, EU countries, EEA countries, international comparisonsConsumer prices , Prices and price indices
false
Figures for GDP per capita, actual individual consumption per capita and comparative price levels in Europe. Norway had Europe’s second highest GDP per capita in 2013.

Comparison of price levels in Europe2011-2013, preliminary figures

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Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland on top

Figures recently released by Eurostat show that Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland had the highest price level-adjusted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Europe in 2013. In the survey, Norway is the most expensive country in Europe. There was a noticeable positive development in the Baltic states in the survey period.

GDP and actual individual consumption per capita, price level adjusted. Relative price levels of actual individual consumption. Selected countries1
2013
Gross Domestic ProductActual individual consumptionActual individual consumption
Volume indices of real expenditure per capita (EU28=100)Volume indices of real expenditure per capita (EU28=100)Price level indices (EU28=100)
1Source: Eurostat
Norway186135167
Iceland119116112
Sweden127115139
Denmark124115142
Finland113115124
France107110111
Italy99100103
Poland677553
Spain949093
United Kingdom109115114
Germany122122102

In 2013, Norway’s price level-adjusted GDP per capita was 86 per cent above the average of the 28 EU countries (EU28). Only Luxembourg had a higher GDP per capita than Norway. The extraordinary result for Luxembourg is due to the fact that a large share of the country’s employees live in the neighbouring countries and thus contribute to GDP without being included in the population. Next on the list after Luxembourg and Norway is Switzerland, with a GDP per capita of 63 per cent above the average of the EU28. The Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Germany followed, with a GDP per capita of 22 to 31 per cent above the EU28. The countries in Eastern and Central Europe in general had a lower GDP per capita compared to the Western European countries.

2011-2013: positive development in the Baltic States

For most of the countries, there were minor changes in the GDP per capita from 2011 to 2013. There was a noticeable positive development for some countries in Eastern Europe from 2011 to 2013. The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania led the development. Estonia and Lithuania’s GDP per capita is now at the same level as Greece, while Latvia’s is slightly below this. Macedonia and Romania also had a positive development. The greatest negative changes were found in Cyprus, Greece and Italy. Among the larger EU countries, the picture is stable during the period for Germany, France and Spain, while the United Kingdom and Poland showed a positive development.

Consumption levels highest in Norway

Luxembourg and Norway also lead the comparison for actual individual consumption per capita, with 36 and 35 per cent above the average of the EU28 respectively. Actual individual consumption in Norway is almost 20 per cent higher than the other Nordic countries. Germany and Austria also have high levels of actual individual consumption, at 22 and 20 per cent higher than the average respectively.

Figure 1 shows the level of both GDP and actual individual consumption per capita. It is noticeable that there is a large difference between the level of GDP per capita and actual individual consumption per capita for Norway compared to other countries. This can be attributed to parts of the country’s income being spent on collective consumption, gross fixed capital formation or foreign assets.

Norway is Europe’s most expensive country

Figure 2 shows the price levels in selected European countries relative to the European average. The figure shows the price levels for goods and services for actual individual consumption. Norway is Europe’s most expensive country in 2013, with a price level that is 67 per cent above the average. Switzerland is almost as expensive as Norway. If we compare Norway’s price level with its neighbours, it is 17 per cent above the level of Denmark and 20 per cent above the level of Sweden. Other countries with relatively high price levels are Luxembourg, Finland and Ireland. The countries with the lowest relative price levels in the survey are situated in South Eastern Europe. In Macedonia, Bulgaria and Albania, the price levels of goods and services for actual individual consumption are around a quarter of the level in Norway.

From EU27 to EU28; Croatia became a member state on 1 July 2013Open and readClose

The level of GDP and actual individual consumption per country is expressed as indices relative to the average of the 28 EU member states (EU28=100), after Croatia became an EU member state on 1 July 2013.

GDP and actual individual consumption per capitaOpen and readClose

While gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is often used as an estimate of the material prosperity of a country, “actual individual consumption per capita” may provide a more accurate picture of residents’ actual living standards. Actual individual consumption measures the amount of goods and services consumed by individuals, independent of whether these are paid for by private households or the public sector.