193/2017 - 14 December 2017 Consumption per capita in purchasing power standards in 2016 Consumption per capita varied between 53% and 132% of the EU average Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) is a measure of material welfare of households. Across the Member States in 2016, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) varied from 53% of the European Union (EU) average in Bulgaria to 132% in Luxembourg. These data, published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, are based on revised purchasing power parities, and the latest GDP and population figures. Eighteen Member States below the EU average Ten Member States recorded AIC per capita above the EU average in 2016. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, 32% above the EU average, ahead of Germany (more than 20% above). They were followed by Austria, the United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Sweden which all recorded levels between 10% and 20% above the EU average. AIC per capita for thirteen Member States lay between the EU average and 30% below. In Italy, Ireland and Cyprus, the levels were 10% or less below the EU average, while Spain, Lithuania, Portugal and Malta were between 10% and 20% below. The Czech Republic, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland and Estonia were between 20% and 30% below the average. Five Member States recorded AIC per capita more than 30% below the EU average. Latvia, Hungary and Romania were between 30% and 40% below, while Croatia and Bulgaria had AIC per capita more than 40% below the EU average. Over the last three years, AIC per capita relative to the EU average remained relatively stable in a majority of Member States. However, clear increases have been registered in Romania (61% of the EU average in 2016 compared with 56% in 2014), Lithuania (85% vs. 81%) and Estonia (72% vs. 69%). In contrast, the most noticeable decrease was recorded in Luxembourg (132% in 2016 vs. 138% in 2014), followed by Austria (119% vs. 122%), Belgium (112% vs. 115%) and Greece (77% vs. 80%). GDP per capita varied by one to five across the Member States Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of economic activity. In 2016, GDP per capita expressed in PPS ranged between 49% of the EU average in Bulgaria and 258% in Luxembourg. AIC and GDP per capita in PPS, EU = 100 AIC per capita GDP per capita 2014 2015 2016 2014 2015 2016 EU 100 100 100 100 100 100 Euro area 105 105 105 107 106 106 Luxembourg* 138 135 132 270 267 258 Germany 124 122 122 126 124 123 Austria 122 121 119 130 130 128 United Kingdom 115 115 116 109 108 107 Finland 114 114 114 111 109 109 Denmark 115 115 113 128 127 124 Belgium 115 114 112 119 119 118 France 112 111 111 107 105 104 Netherlands 113 112 111 130 129 128 Sweden 112 112 110 124 125 123 Italy 97 97 98 96 95 97 Ireland* 94 96 96 137 181 183 Cyprus 89 91 91 81 82 83 Spain 87 89 89 90 91 92 Lithuania 81 83 85 75 75 75 Portugal 81 82 82 77 77 77 Malta 79 81 81 90 93 96 Czech Republic 78 78 78 86 87 88 Greece 80 79 77 72 69 68 Slovenia 76 76 76 82 82 83 Slovakia 76 76 76 77 77 77 Poland 74 74 74 67 68 68 Estonia 69 71 72 76 75 75 Latvia 65 65 67 64 64 65 Hungary 62 63 63 68 68 67 Romania 56 58 61 55 56 58 Croatia 59 59 59 59 59 60 Bulgaria 51 53 53 47 47 49 Norway 135 135 133 176 161 148 Switzerland 131 131 128 165 166 161 Iceland 113 112 114 119 123 128 Turkey 63 64 64 64 65 64 Montenegro 52 53 56 41 42 45 Serbia 46 46 46 37 36 37 Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia 40 41 41 36 36 37 Albania 37 38 37 30 29 29 Bosnia & Herzegovina 41 41 41 31 31 32 Countries with the same value of AIC per capita are ranked by protocol order. * See country notes. The source dataset can be found here. Geographical information The European Union (EU) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The euro area consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. Methods and definitions Data presented in this News Release are produced by the Eurostat-OECD purchasing power parities program. The full methodology used is described in the Eurostat-OECD Methodological manual on purchasing power parities. Actual Individual Consumption consists of goods and services actually consumed by individuals, irrespective of whether these goods and services are purchased and paid for by households, by government, or by non-profit organisations. In international volume comparisons of consumption, AIC is often seen as the preferable measure, since it is not influenced by the fact that the organisation of certain important services consumed by households, like health and education services, differs a lot across countries. The Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) is an artificial currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries. Thus one PPS buys the same volume of goods and services in all countries. This unit allows meaningful volume comparisons of economic indicators across countries. Aggregates expressed in PPS are derived by dividing aggregates in current prices and national currency by the respective Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The level of uncertainty associated with the basic price and national accounts data, and the methods used for compiling PPPs imply that differences between countries that have indices within a close range should not be over-interpreted. Country notes: Ireland: In 2015, the Irish Gross Domestic Product was substantially affected by the relocation from outside the EU to Ireland of balance sheets of large multi-national enterprises. More information can be found on the Eurostat website. Luxembourg: The high GDP per capita in Luxembourg is partly due to the country's large share of cross-border workers in total employment. While contributing to GDP, these workers are not taken into consideration as part of the resident population which is used to calculate GDP per capita. Revisions and timetable The regular publication schedule of PPPs includes four estimates for a particular year. The first estimate for 2016 was published in News Release 91/2017 of 13 June 2017. The present News Release corresponds to the second estimate. The 2016 figures will be revised again in December 2018 and finalised in 2019. For more information Eurostat Statistics Explained article on GDP per capita, consumption per capita and price level indices. Eurostat website section dedicated to purchasing power parities. Eurostat database on purchasing power parities. Eurostat metadata on purchasing power parities. Issued by: Eurostat Press Office Vincent BOURGEAIS Tel: +352-4301-33 444 eurostat-pressofficeec.europa.eu Production of data: Marjanca GASIC Tel: +352-4301-37 531 marjanca.gasicec.europa.eu EurostatStatistics ec.europa.eu/eurostat EU_Eurostat Media requests: Eurostat media support / Tel: +352-4301-33 408 / eurostat-mediasupportec.europa.eu