European Macro Monitor · Purchasing Power

Purchasing power, living standards and price levels across Europe

Eurostat PPP data adjust monetary values for differences in national price levels. This page separates economic output, household consumption and relative prices so they are not mistaken for the same concept.

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Greece GDP / capita

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EU27 = 100

Greece AIC / capita

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EU27 = 100

Greece AIC price level

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EU27 = 100

EU27 GDP rank

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EU members only

What the latest numbers suggest

Descriptive comparison only; not a forecast or welfare ranking.

Start here: what do these indicators mean?

All three indicators use EU27 = 100, but each answers a different question. A value of 80 means that the specific indicator is 20% below the EU average—not that a country or its citizens are “20% poorer” in every sense.

GDP per capita in PPS

Economic output per person after adjusting for national price-level differences. Use it to compare relative economic capacity.

AIC per capita

Actual Individual Consumption is closer to the goods and services households actually consume, including individually provided public services.

Price Level Index

Shows whether prices are relatively high or low compared with the EU average. It is not an inflation rate.

Simple exampleGDP = 75 means purchasing-power-adjusted output per person is about 25% below the EU average. AIC = 85 means household consumption is closer to the EU average than GDP is. PLI = 80 means the comparative price level is roughly 20% below the EU average.

Where each EU economy stands

Latest GDP per capita expressed in purchasing power standards. The dashed line marks the EU27 average of 100.

Relative GDP per capita

Distance from 100 shows purchasing-power-adjusted GDP per person relative to the EU27 average. This is a relative level, not a GDP growth rate.

GDP versus Actual Individual Consumption

The gap between GDP and AIC can be informative: output generated in an economy and material consumption enjoyed by households are related but not identical.

Price levels

PLI above 100 means a higher price level than the EU average; below 100 means lower. This is a cross-country price comparison, not inflation.

Four rules for reading PPP data correctly

1. 100 is a benchmark, not a targetEU27 = 100 is simply the comparison base.

2. GDP and consumption are differentAIC can be above or below GDP relative to the EU average; the gap carries information.

3. Price level is not inflationPLI compares countries at a point in time. Inflation measures price changes through time.

4. Do not over-read small gapsPPP estimates are best for broad comparisons; small differences and rank changes contain measurement uncertainty.

Source & methodology

Source: Eurostat dataset prc_ppp_ind_1. Latest observations in this publication extend through 2025. Purchasing Power Standards are artificial currency units designed to equalise purchasing power by removing differences in national price levels.