THE PURCHASING POWER IN ROMANIA RELATIVE TO THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES, IN 2022

  This press release presents the results on the purchasing power in Romania relative to the EU Member States. The data were calculated by Eurostat in December 2023, on the basis of the consumer prices collected by the participating countries for a common basket of comparable goods and services, selected as representative for the consumption patterns in the 36 European countries, as well as on the basis of the data on the GDP expenditures and other basic information sent in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1445/2007.     1. Price level indices for household final consumption expenditure on goods and services relative to the European Union average   - The price level indices show how many units of the same currency are needed to purchase an identical volume of goods and services in different countries, for each group of goods and services. In 2022, for the consumer goods and services included in final consumption, 100 euro are paid at EU level, with the two extremes being represented by Denmark (149 euro) and Romania and Bulgaria (59 euro each). - In 2022, among the EU Member States, the lowest price level for the consumer goods and services included in household final consumption was recorded in Bulgaria and Romania (41% below the EU average), followed by Poland (39% below the EU average). - In 2022, among the EU Member States, the highest price level for household final consumption was reported in Denmark (49% above the EU average), followed by Ireland (42% above the EU average), Luxembourg (37% above the EU average) and Finland (26% above the EU average).     2. Price level indices for the main groups of goods and services   - According to the Eurostat press release*) , Romania is the cheapest Member State for the “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” group (72%), followed by Poland (73%), while Denmark and Luxembourg have the highest price level for this group of products (121%). - Bulgaria has the lowest price level for the “Alcoholic beverages and tobacco” (66%), “Clothing and footwear” (80%) and “Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels” (38%) groups, followed by Poland, for “Alcoholic beverages and tobacco” (73%) and “Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels” (39%). - Denmark has the highest price level for the products included in the “Clothing and footwear” group (133%), and Ireland is the most expensive EU country in terms of the products of the “Alcoholic beverages and tobacco” (216%) and “Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels” (195%) groups.     3. Volume indices of Gross Domestic Product per capita, calculated on the basis of the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)     - Romania and Hungary report the same value of the volume index of GDP per capita, calculated on the basis of the PPP, namely 76% relative to the European Union average. - The lowest value of GDP per capita in 2022 was recorded by Bulgaria, namely 38% below the EU average. - The highest level of GDP per capita in the European Union – 156% above the EU average – was reported by Luxembourg. This is partly explained by the fact that a large number of foreign citizens represent a high share of the country’s total labour force and thus contribute to Luxembourg’s GDP, while they are not part of the resident population.