The per capita purchasing power amounts to EUR 9,092 in Romania this year, which puts the Romanians almost 52% below the European average and improves their ranking by one place to 32nd, according to the NIQ GfK Purchasing Power Europe 2024 study. 

The average in Europe increased to EUR 18,768. However, the report found significant differences between the 42 European countries, with people in Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg having a much higher net income than in the rest of Europe, while the purchasing power is lowest in Kosovo, Belarus, and Ukraine. The big winner is the United Kingdom, which has moved up three places in the overall European comparison. 

With an average per capita purchasing power of EUR 9,092, Romania ranks 32nd on the list. However, the study said that the trend of a widening gap between regions with low and high purchasing power continued in 2024. 

As in previous years, Bucharest takes first place among the Romanian counties by a clear margin. With a per capita purchasing power of EUR 18,580, the capital’s inhabitants have more than twice the national average available for spending and saving. More importantly, the capital is the only region in Romania that has reached the average purchasing power in Europe for the first time.

Cluj comes second in Romania with an average per capita purchasing power of EUR 14,598, followed by Timis - EUR 14,098, Ilfov - EUR 13,801, Sibiu - EUR 11,805, and Brasov - EUR 11,372.

The national top 10 is completed by Prahova, which moved up three places to seventh with an average purchasing power of EUR 9,415, Arad - EUR 9,283, Constanta - EUR 9,280, and Alba - EUR 9,271.

All the counties in the top 10 have above-average per capita purchasing power. Arges also comes close to the national average, narrowly missing out on a place in the top 10. People there have EUR 9,105, which is EUR 13 more than the average Romanian, at their disposal for spending and saving.

According to the same study, Europeans have a total of around EUR 12.9 trillion at their disposal to spend on food, housing, services, energy costs, private pensions, insurance, vacations, mobility, and consumer purchases in 2024. This corresponds to an average per capita purchasing power of EUR 18,768, which represents a nominal growth of 3.9% compared to the revised values of the previous year. 

Liechtenstein is once again in first place in the purchasing power rankings with EUR 70,180, which is more than 3.7 times the European average. 

Switzerland and Luxembourg follow in second and third place. While the per capita purchasing power of the Swiss, at EUR 52,566, is 2.8 times that of the average European, Luxembourgers have a net disposable income of EUR 41,785 per capita. This is more than 2.2 times higher than the European average.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Tero Vesalainen/Dreamstime.com)