In 2023, the average purchasing power per capita in Europe is 17,688 Euros. Unfortunately, compared to last year when Romania was ranked 31st, albeit very low, this year it has dropped two more places to 33rd in terms of purchasing power, as shown in the graph in the opening of this press release.

In Romania, the average purchasing power per capita this year is 7,738 Euros. This means that Romanians are 56% below the European average and have dropped two places to 33rd.

Bucharest is clearly in the lead with a purchasing power per capita of 15,314 Euros, which means that the residents of the capital have nearly 98% more purchasing power than the national average and 3.8 times more purchasing power than the residents of Vaslui county, which has the lowest purchasing power available for their expenses and savings. There, the net disposable income is only 4,010 Euros, representing almost 52% of the national average.

In the rest, it can be said that there is a clear difference among the 42 countries in Europe: Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, for example, have a higher net income than the rest of Europe, while purchasing power is the lowest in Belarus, Kosovo, and Ukraine.

The main winner of the year is Ireland, which has climbed four places in the European ranking. These are some of the results of the new study "GfK Purchasing Power Europe 2023."

In total, Europeans have around 12.1 billion Euros at their disposal to spend in 2023 on food, services, energy, private pensions, insurance, holidays, mobility, and consumer goods for long-term use.

This figure corresponds to an average purchasing power per capita of 17,688 Euros per year, representing an increase of 5.8% compared to last year.

However, the total amount that consumers have available for expenses and savings varies significantly from one country to another and depends on the evolution of prices in 2023.

As in previous years, Liechtenstein far exceeds the value of purchasing power compared to other countries. Liechtenstein has a purchasing power per capita of 68,843 Euros, nearly 3.9 times higher than the European average.

Switzerland and Luxembourg are in second and third places. The Swiss have 49,592 Euros available for expenses per capita, nearly 2.8 times the European purchasing power average, while the Luxembourg residents have a net income of 40,931 Euros per capita. This is more than 2.3 times the European average.

All other countries in the top ten also have significantly above-average purchasing power per capita – at least 47% higher than the European average.

The big winner is Ireland. With 26,882 Euros per capita, the Irish are exactly 52% above the European average.

In total, 16 out of the 42 examined countries are above the European average. These contrast with the 26 countries that have purchasing power below the European average, including Spain, which, with 16,449 Euros per capita, is slightly below the European average.

As in previous years, Ukraine continues to be at the bottom of the ranking. The residents have a purchasing power of only 2,478 Euros per capita, which is exactly 14% of the European average.