Study: Europeans' purchase power went up to 18,768 euros in 2024

The Europeans' purchase power went up to 18,768 euros in 2024 but the amount available to consumers for expenses and saving varies a lot from one country to another and also depends on the way in which consumer prices evolve, according to the NIQ Gfk Purchasing Power Europe 2024 study.   People from Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Luxembourg have a net income higher than the rest of Europe, while the purchase power is lower in Kosovo, Belarus and Ukraine.   As in previous years, Liechtenstein is now first in the purchase power top with a clear margin. Liechtenstein inhabitants have a per capita purchase power of 70,180 euros, 3.7 times higher than the European average. Switzerland and Luxembourg follow, ranking second and third.   In general, 16 out of the 42 countries analyzed are over the European average. On the other hand, 26 countries have a per capita purchase power below the average, including Spain which is slightly below the average, of 18,018 euros per capita. As in previous years, Ukraine is at the back, its inhabitants haing only 2,878 euros per capita, which represents a little over 15% of the European average.   In Romania, the purchase power is 9092 euros.   “At 3.9%, the nominal increase of the purchase power in Europe is significantly more moderate than in the two previous years. At the same time, the inflation rate is also dropping, which means that at least the increase of consumer prices should be absorbed. Fortunately, the tendency of countries with lower purchase power is recording a higher increase rate of the purchase power, which means that the difference of purchase power in Europe continues to drop, while incomes slowly converge. However, differences between countries and within countries are still big in 2024,”said Markus Frank, an expert in the field of geomarketing solutions of NIQ-Gfk, quoted in the press release.   The study “NIQ Gfk Purchasing Power Europe 2024” is available for 42 European countries at detailed regional levels, such as municipalities and postal codes, together with data about inhabitants and households, as well as digital maps. The study indicates purchase power levels per person, per year in euros and as index. The NIQ Gfk purchase power is based on the people's nominal income available, which means that values are not adjusted for inflation, the authors mentioned.