Eurostat: Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania on the last places in the EU in terms of consumption and GDP per capita in 2016

Consumption per capita in the EU varied between 53% and 132% of the EU average. Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) is a measure of material welfare of households, Eurostat informs.

Across the Member States in 2016, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) varied from 53% of the European Union (EU) average in Bulgaria to 132% in Luxembourg.

Ten Member States recorded AIC per capita above the EU average in 2016. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, 32% above the EU average, ahead of Germany (more than 20% above)

They were followed by Austria, the United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Sweden which all recorded levels between 10% and 20% above the EU average.

AIC per capita for thirteen Member States lay between the EU average and 30% below. In Italy, Ireland and Cyprus, the levels were 10% or less below the EU average, while Spain, Lithuania, Portugal and Malta were between 10% and 20% below. The Czech Republic, Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland and Estonia were between 20% and 30% below the average.

Five Member States recorded AIC per capita more than 30% below the EU average.

Latvia, Hungary and Romania were between 30% and 40% below, while Croatia and Bulgaria had AIC per capita more than 40% below the EU average.

Over the last three years, AIC per capita relative to the EU average remained relatively stable in a majority of Member States.

However, clear increases have been registered in Romania (61% of the EU average in 2016 compared with 56% in 2014), Lithuania (85% vs. 81%) and Estonia (72% vs. 69%).

In contrast, the most noticeable decrease was recorded in Luxembourg (132% in 2016 vs. 138% in 2014), followed by Austria (119% vs. 122%), Belgium (112% vs. 115%) and Greece (77% vs. 80%).