Finland, among the European states with highest household welfare

Finnish households are among the top-10 in Europe in terms of welfare expressed in purchasing power. An estimation published today by Eurostat places Finland in seventh place, well above the European average, in Actual Individual Consumption per capita.

Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) is a measure of material welfare of the households. Based on first preliminary estimates for 2018, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) varied from 56% to 132% of the European Union (EU) average across the Member States.

According to the statistical office of the European Union, ten Member States recorded AIC per capita above the EU average in 2018. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, 32% above the EU average. Germany was 21% above, followed by Austria, Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, Sweden and France, which all recorded levels between around 5% and 16% above the EU average.

Below the average

AIC per capita for thirteen Member States lay between the EU average and 25% below. In Italy, Cyprus, Ireland, Spain and Lithuania the levels were 10% or less below the EU average, while Czechia, Portugal and Malta were between 10% and 20% below and Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and Greece between 20% and 25% below.

Six Member States recorded AIC per capita 25% or more below the EU average. Estonia was 26% below, Latvia and Romania were 30% below, while Hungary and Croatia had AIC per capita just under 40% below and Bulgaria was 44% below.

GDP per capita

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, a measure of economic activity, also shows substantial differences between the EU Member States.

In 2018, GDP per capita expressed in PPS ranged between 50% of the EU average in Bulgaria and 254% in Luxembourg. Eleven Member States recorded a level of GDP per capita above the EU average in 2018. Finland was among them, by recording 110%.

Source: Eurostat.