21/06/2022
In 2021, price levels for consumer goods and services differed widely across the EU.
Denmark and Ireland (both 140% of the EU average) had the highest price levels. These Member States were followed by Luxembourg (132%), Sweden (128%) and Finland (126%). The lowest price levels were found in Poland (60%) and in Romania and Bulgaria (both 56%).
This information comes from data on price levels for consumer goods and services published by Eurostat. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.
Source dataset: prc_ppp_ind
Widest price gaps for restaurants & hotels and for alcohol & tobacco
In 2021, the price level for restaurants & hotels was almost 3.4 times higher in the most expensive country than in the cheapest one. Price levels ranged from 46% of the EU average in Bulgaria, 54% in Romania and 62% in Hungary, to 155% of the average in Denmark, 137% in Sweden and 133% in Finland.
Alcohol & tobacco ranked second in terms of price level difference, with the lowest price levels registered in Bulgaria (64% of the EU average), Poland (72%) and Hungary (79%) and the highest in Ireland (205%), Finland (173%), Sweden (136%) and Denmark and France (both 134%). This large price variation is mainly due to differences in taxation of these products.
Food & non-alcoholic beverages were cheapest in Romania (69% of the EU average) and Poland (72%), while they were most expensive in Luxembourg (125% of the average), Denmark (120%) and Ireland (119%).
Clothing is a group of products where prices differed less among the Member States, ranging from 76% of the average in Bulgaria to 134% in Denmark. Personal transport equipment also recorded a smaller price disparity among Member States, with Poland (81% of the EU average) cheapest and Denmark (138%) most expensive. Price differences were also limited for consumer electronics, from 88% of the average in Poland to 113% in the Netherlands.
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