Luxembourg recorded the highest level of actual individual consumption (AIC) per capita in the European Union in 2024, at 46% above the EU average.
AIC measures the material welfare of households by looking at the value of goods and services consumed, adjusted for differences in price levels using purchasing power standards (PPS) to allow fair comparisons between countries, Eurostat explained in a release on Wednesday.
Last year, AIC across EU countries ranged widely — from 72% to 146% of the EU average.
Ten EU countries saw AIC per person at or above the EU average. After Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany followed at 20% and 19% above the average respectively.
The lowest AIC per capita was found in Latvia, at 28% below the EU average, with Bulgaria and Hungary both at 27% below.
Wide gap in GDP per capita
Differences between countries were even larger when looking at gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, which measures economic activity.
Luxembourg again led the ranking, with GDP per capita at 245% of the EU average, followed by Ireland at 221% and the Netherlands at 134%, according to Eurostat data.
Bulgaria, Latvia and Greece had the lowest GDP per capita, at 66%, 68% and 69% of the EU average respectively.
Both AIC and GDP per capita figures are calculated using purchasing power standards to take account of varying price levels between countries.
