Household consumption: price levels in 2023

In 2023, price levels for household final consumption expenditure differed widely across the EU.

The highest price levels were recorded in Denmark (143% of the EU average), Ireland (142%) and Luxembourg (135%). Meanwhile, the lowest levels were registered in Bulgaria and Romania (each 60%) and Poland (66%). 

This information comes from data on price level indices published by Eurostat. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.

Source dataset: prc_ppp_ind

Widest price gap for alcohol and tobacco

In 2023, the price level for alcohol and tobacco was 3.2 times higher in Ireland, the most expensive country, than in Bulgaria, the least expensive. The lowest price levels for alcohol and tobacco were recorded in Bulgaria (66% of the EU average), Poland (77%) and Romania (85%). Meanwhile, the highest levels were recorded in Ireland (211%), Finland (170%) and Denmark (133%). This large price variation is mainly due to differences in taxation of these products.

Restaurants and hotels ranked second in terms of price level difference, with the lowest price levels registered in Bulgaria (52% of the EU average), Romania (65%) and Hungary (72%) and the highest in Denmark (152%), Finland (129%) and Ireland (128%). 

Source dataset: prc_ppp_ind

Clothing ranked third in terms of price level variation, with Spain (81%), Bulgaria (82%) and Hungary (88%) registering the cheapest clothing prices, while the most expensive were in Denmark (131%), Czechia (126%) and Estonia (118%).

Disparities were also recorded for food and non-alcoholic beverages (varying from 74% of the EU average in Romania to 119% in Luxembourg), personal transport equipment (varying from 90% in Slovakia to 129% in Denmark) and consumer electronics (varying from 92% in Italy to 113% in France).