{"id":12798,"date":"2026-11-04T13:01:19","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T13:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12798"},"modified":"2026-11-04T13:01:19","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T13:01:19","slug":"romania-slips-one-place-in-european-purchasing-power-ranking-bucharest-scores-twice-the-national-average","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=12798","title":{"rendered":"Romania slips one place in European purchasing power ranking, Bucharest scores twice the national average"},"content":{"rendered":"

The average purchasing power per capita in Europe is expected to reach EUR 21,153 in 2026, while in Romania it stands at EUR 11,283, down from the 31st place in 2025 to the 32nd place in the NIQ Purchasing Power Europe 2026 Compendium, quoted by Agerpres<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The residents of Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Iceland have considerably higher disposable incomes than the rest of Europe, while purchasing power is lowest in Ukraine, Kosovo, and Moldova, the ranking shows.<\/p>\n

As in previous years, Liechtenstein ranks first in the European purchasing power ranking in 2026. Its residents’ purchasing power stands at EUR 78,520 per capita, equivalent to 3.7 times the European average. Switzerland and Iceland rank second and third, respectively. While Swiss residents have EUR 54,730 per capita at their disposal, approximately 2.6 times the European average, Icelanders have EUR 44,692 per capita. This puts Iceland’s purchasing power at more than twice the European average.<\/p>\n

All the other countries in the top 10 also record purchasing power levels significantly above the European average. The biggest change compared with the previous year is recorded by Norway, which climbs from 10th to fifth place, with a purchasing power of EUR 35,947 per capita in 2026. Iceland and Luxembourg have also switched positions, now ranking third and fourth, respectively.<\/p>\n

Hungary has climbed from 30th to 27th place, reaching a purchasing power of EUR 15,105 per capita. The Czech Republic gained two positions and now ranks 21st, with EUR 17,785 per capita.<\/p>\n

A total of 17 of the 42 countries analyzed are above the European average, while 25 remain below it. Ukraine continues to rank last, with purchasing power of just EUR 3,456 per capita, approximately 16% of the European average.<\/p>\n

In many European countries, purchasing power remains concentrated in capital regions. This is particularly evident in Romania: while average purchasing power nationwide stands at EUR 11,283 per capita, residents of the Bucharest region have an average of EUR 22,941 at their disposal. This means purchasing power in the capital is more than twice the national average.<\/p>\n

The gap between the county with the highest and the one with the lowest purchasing power is considerable: Bucharest, at EUR 22,941, contrasts with Giurgiu, at EUR 5,816. This amounts to a difference of approximately EUR 17,100 per capita. Bucharest residents have almost four times the purchasing power of those living in the lowest-ranked county.<\/p>\n

Other capital regions also record above-average figures. Paris exceeds the French national average with a purchasing power of EUR 46,366 per capita, while disposable income in Bratislava, Sofia, Prague, Budapest, and Lisbon is at least 25% above the respective national averages.<\/p>\n

However, this pattern does not apply to all European capitals. In Berlin, the purchasing power of EUR 30,178 per capita is more than EUR 1,000 below Germany’s average of EUR 31,193. The gap is even more pronounced in Brussels, where purchasing power is approximately 10% below the national average.<\/p>\n

“With a growth of 4.4%, purchasing power in Europe continues to make significant progress in 2026. It is worth noting that many markets in Central and Southeastern Europe continue to develop more dynamically than much of Western Europe. At the same time, mature Western European markets remain among the continent’s most important consumer markets, thanks to their high purchasing power and size. Although purchasing power differences between European countries are gradually narrowing, market potential continues to vary significantly across the continent,” Raluca M\u0103n\u0103rcescu, NIQ Geomarketing expert, said.<\/p>\n

The NIQ Purchasing Power Europe 2026 study covers 42 European countries and provides detailed regional data, including at municipality and postcode level, alongside population and household figures and digital maps.<\/p>\n

Purchasing power represents disposable income after taxes and compulsory contributions have been deducted and also includes state benefits. The study provides annual purchasing power figures per capita, expressed in euros and as an index. The NIQ purchasing power is based on the population’s nominal disposable income, and the figures are not adjusted for inflation. Calculations are based on reported income and earnings, statistics on state benefits, and economic forecasts provided by economic research institutes.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The average purchasing power per capita in Europe is expected to reach EUR 21,153 in 2026, while in Romania it stands at EUR 11,283, down from the 31st place in 2025 to the 32nd place in the NIQ Purchasing Power Europe 2026 Compendium, quoted by Agerpres. The residents of Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Iceland have considerably […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12798\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}