Germany, France, Italy and the UK, make up almost 60% of Europe’s purchasing power, which increased by approximately 4.2% per-capita compared to last year, according to a recent GfK study. A total of approximately €9.13 trillion ($13.97 trillion) is available to European consumers in 2015 for spending and saving, equating to an average per-capita purchasing power of €13,636 ($20,863) for the 42 countries under review from GfK.
Purchasing power in the eastern and southern European countries has grown somewhat despite the economic crises. However, the levels lag behind western and northern European countries. With a purchasing power of €13,203 ($20,200) per person, Spain is the only country that falls around the European average.
Consumers in Europe’s top 10 countries have at least 1.5 times the average European purchasing power, while Liechtenstein has 4.5 times the European average. Twenty six countries fall below the European average.
Spain is the only country with a purchasing power that approximates the European average. The country with the next highest purchasing power is Italy with €16,193 ($24,775) per person, which is 19% above the European average. Malta, the country with the next lowest purchasing power, has €10,753 ($16,452) per person, which is 21% less than the European average.
Paris: Purchasing power hotspot
France has an average per-capita purchasing power of €19,076 ($29,186), which is almost 40% above the European average.
With a purchasing power of €29,443 ($45,048) per person, Paris substantially outpaces France’s other departments. Inhabitants of France’s capital have on average 1.5 times the national average and more than twice the European average.
Poland’s varying income levels
Polish consumers have a 2015 purchasing power of €6,437 ($9,849) per person, equating to 47% of the average European purchasing power. The district of Tarnow has a purchasing power that approximates Poland’s national average. Warsaw is the nation’s district with the highest purchasing power. With €11,751 ($17,979), consumers have on average almost 83% more purchasing power than the rest of the country, but approximately 14% less than the European average.
Despite this, 17 of Poland’s 380 districts have a purchasing power level that is 20% or higher than the national average, indicating growing affluence in some regions.
Czech has more than half of Euro average
Czech Republic consumers have an average per-capita purchasing power of €7,313 ($11,189), which equates to 53.6%of the European average.
The Czech Republic’s wealthiest district, Prague, has an average per-capita purchasing power of €9,598 ($14,685), approximately 31% more than the national average. Bruntal consumers have an average of just €6,006 ($9,189) per person, which is 18% below the national average and equates to the purchasing power level as consumers in Croatia.