Purchasing power in Europe rises slower than inflation

For the second year in a row, purchasing power in Europe has increased last year, while inflation continues to fall. The differences between European member states are slowly – but steadily – narrowing.

Luxembourg richest

Last year, citizens of the European Unioin saw their purchasing power grow by an average of 5.5 %, to 19,786 euros per capita. A year earlier, the increase was 7 %. The residents of the 27 EU member states had a combined purchasing power of 8.9 trillion euros at their disposal, NielsenIQ and GfK calculated. Still, this increase in purchasing power did not fully compensate for the rise in the cost of living. In other words, it could not keep up with inflation.