Where is it cheapest to eat out in the EU?
Wonder how much you’re spending in your host country compared to neighbouring EU countries in terms of food, clothing, restaurant meals and gadgets? Eurostat has just released a report comparing the price of consumer goods and services in the 28-member EU.
The recently published Eurostat report is based on 2013 figures and placed the average price for EU-28 at 100%. Here’s a graph showing the most and least expensive countries:
Price level in Denmark is 40% greater than the EU average while the level in Bulgaria is 52% less than the average
The top 5 EU countries with the highest price levels are:
- Denmark at 140%
- Sweden at 130%
- Luxembourg and Finland at 123%
- Ireland at 118%
The top 5 countries with least price levels are:
- Bulgaria at 48%
- Romania and Poland at 57%
- Hungary at 60%
- Lithuania at 65%
In terms of food (breads, meat, eggs, cheese, fruits, vegetables, non-alcoholic drinks and others), the highest and least price levels are:
- Denmark, 140%
- Sweden, 125%
- Finland, 123%
- Austria, 122%
- Luxembourg, 118%
- Hungary, 80%
- Lithuania, 78%
- Bulgaria and Romania 69%
- Poland, 62%
In alcoholic beverages (spirits, wine and beer) and tobacco:
- Ireland, 178%
- UK, 161%
- Sweden, 141%
- Finland, 135%
- Denmark, 124%
- Romania, 74%
- Lithuania and Poland, 73%
- Hungary, 66%
- Bulgaria, 59%
In clothing (men’s, women’s, children’s, infant’s, accessories and services like cleaning, hiring and others):
- Sweden, 130%
- Denmark, 124%
- Finland, 118%
- Italy, 107%
- Belgium and Estonia, 106%
- Cyprus, 89%
- Spain and Romania, 87%
- Bulgaria, 82%
- Hungary, 75%
In consumer electronics (TVs, cameras, computers, software, CDs, DVDs and services like repair and others):
- Denmark and Cyprus, 113%
- Sweden, 110%
- Finland, 109%
- Belgium, 107%
- Germany, Luxembourg, Hungary and Slovakia, 94%
- Czech Republic, 92%
- Poland, 86%
Personal transport equipment (cars, motorcycles and bicycles including maintenance, repair, parts and fuel):
- Denmark, 155%
- Netherlands, 117%
- Portugal, 116%
- Finland, 114%
- Ireland, 111%
- Hungary, 86%
- Bulgaria and Poland, 85%
- Slovakia, 84%
- Czech Republic, 81%
Restaurant and hotels (restaurants, cafés, pubs, bars, youth hostels and others):
- Denmark, 149%
- Sweden, 146%
- Finland and Ireland, 128%
- Belgium, 116%
- Lithuania, 64%
- Czech Republic, 58%
- Hungary, 53%
- Romania, 52%
- Bulgaria, 47%
Eurostat based their price comparisons on 2,400 consumer goods and services among the EU states. The full report also includes non-EU countries including Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. A separate Eurostat report also revealed how much taxes EU residents are paying relative to their neighbours.
