(13 December 2016) – In 2015 actual Individual Consumption (AIC), a measure of material welfare of households, varied from 53% of the European Union average in Bulgaria to 137% in Luxembourg.
Ten Member States recorded AIC per capita above the EU average in 2015. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, 37% above the EU average, ahead of Germany (more than 20% above). They were followed by Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, the United Kingdom, 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, Slovakia, Slovenia, 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 and Hungary were between 30% and 40% below, while Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria had AIC per capita more than 40% below the EU average.