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.
Romania has signed a major contract with France for the acquisition of Mistral portable short-range air defense missile systems. The agreement was concluded on Tuesday, November 25, between Romania’s Ministry of National Defense and France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans, through their respective General Directorates for Armaments. The acquisition is valued at EUR […]
The European Parliament called on November 26 for EU-wide rules to strengthen the protection of minors online, recommending a minimum age of sixteen for accessing social networks, video-sharing platforms, and AI chatbots, according to a statement from the institution,
The government of Romania will be empowered to establish, ex officio or upon request, by Government Decision, an extended surveillance regime over local companies strongly affected by economic sanctions imposed by other states, according to the legislative project prepared by the government, given that the situation of the assets held by the Russian giant Lukoil […]
The European Commission (EC) will reportedly give Romania four more months to appoint permanent management under competitive procedures at 48 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the energy sector, after the Romanian government agreed to double the fine paid by the country and the penalties charged to those responsible (ministers) if the milestone set under the Resilience […]
The Romanian banks boasted in 2025 virtually the same record aggregated net profit as in 2024, namely RON 11.6 billion (EUR 2.3 billion, -0.6% y/y) in January-September and RON 6.2 billion (EUR 828 million, -0.3% y/y) in Q3 alone, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio has […]
The Romanian Parliament approved the National Defense Strategy on Wednesday, November 26, with 314 votes in favor, 43 against, and three abstentions, following a joint session attended by president Nicușor Dan. The document will guide national security policy for the 2025-2030 period. During the parliamentary debate, Ana Maria Gavrilă, leader of the opposition party POT, […]
