The way income and wealth are distributed across society determines the extent to which individuals have equal access to the goods and services produced within a national economy. A very important measure of income distribution is the median equivalised disposable income (further disposable income) expressed in purchasing power standard (PPS) per inhabitant.
In 2020, the median disposable income averaged 17 871 PPS per inhabitant in the EU. It varied considerably across the EU Member States and ranged from 28 675 PPS in Luxembourg, to 7 724 PPS in Romania.
Source dataset: ilc_di03
The highest levels of median disposable income were recorded in Western and Nordic EU Member States, such as Luxembourg (28 675 PPS), Germany (24 212 PPS), Austria (23 334 PPS) and Belgium (22 294 PPS). On the other hand, the median disposable income was lower in most southern and eastern Member States, such as Romania (7 724 PPS), Bulgaria (8 647 PPS), Hungary (9 699 PPS) and Slovakia (10 076 PPS).
For more information:
- Statistics Explained article on living conditions in Europe – income distribution and income inequality
- Dedicated section on income and living conditions
- Database on income and living conditions
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