Prices in Luxembourg are 52 percent above the EU average

08.09.2024. / 15:02

BRUSSELS – Luxembourg has the highest consumer prices among European Union countries, even 52 percent higher than the EU average. In particular, education in this country is more expensive than anywhere else in the EU, at 276 percent above the average.

At the same time, this small country of Western Europe has the highest average earnings – about 47.2 euros per hour, and represents the center of financial and technological services on the Old Continent, according to Eurostat data.

According to this criterion, Denmark is second with 42 euros per hour, Norway third with 41.7, and Iceland fourth with 39.5 euros.

In contrast to them, at the bottom of the ranking are Bulgaria with an average hourly wage of eight euros, followed by Romania with 10.4, Latvia with 10.7, and Hungary with 11 euros per hour.

At the other end of the expensive list, Romania has the lowest prices in the entire euro bloc, with 46 percent below the EU average.

This country, which borders Serbia, has healthcare costs 70 percent below the European average, and education costs 62 percent below the average. However, it also has the second lowest median annual income per capita, after taxation – 6,568 euros.

It is interesting that the second on the list of the most expensive countries is Ireland, a country that until a few decades ago was considered one of the poorest in the western part of Europe. However, much has changed in the meantime thanks to the expansion of the country’s information technology sector and the attraction of large multinational companies with very low caution rates.

Ireland has prices 45 percent above the EU average.

In third place is Denmark, with 43 percent higher prices, in fourth place is Finland with 28 percent more expensive products, followed by the Netherlands and Sweden, each with 22 percent above the EU average.

Looking at the full list of EU countries, prices tend to be higher in Western countries with higher living standards and higher incomes.

Relative average prices are determined by the currency needed to purchase the same volume of products in different countries, calculated on the basis of actual individual consumption of goods and services and the exchange rate in each country individually. Biznis.rs