Europeans Have around €773 Less in 2020 due to COVID-19

Europeans Have around €773 Less in 2020 due to COVID-19
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Europeans have an average per capita purchasing power of €13,894 in 2020, according to GfK. However, disposable net income among the 42 studied countries varies significantly. This year, the study also includes the Corona Impact Index, which illustrates the impact of COVID-19 on European countries.

Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Luxembourg have the highest disposable net income, while Kosovo, Moldova and Ukraine have the lowest. Liechtensteiners have more than 37 times the average purchasing power of Ukrainians. The rankings show substantial differences between the studied countries with respect to the amount available to Europeans for food, living, services, energy, private pensions, insurance, vacation, mobility and consumer purchases.

Europeans have just under €9.5 trillion at their disposal in 2020. This corresponds to an average per capita purchasing power of €13,894. Per capita purchasing power shows a nominal decline of almost 5.3 percent in 2020 compared to last year's revised value, which can be attributed mainly to the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting economic impact.

Liechtenstein once again takes first place among the 42 European countries with a per capita purchasing power of €64,240. This far exceeds the values of the other countries and is more than 4.6 times the European average. Completing the top three of the purchasing power rankings are Switzerland and Luxembourg, as was the case last year. The Swiss have €41,998 per capita available for spending, more than three times the European average, while Luxembourgers have a per capita purchasing power of €34,119. This is more than 2.5 times the European average.

All other countries in the top ten also have significantly above-average per capita purchasing power, at least 50 percent higher than the European average. Ireland makes it into the top ten this year with a per capita purchasing power of €21,030, putting it in ninth place and ousting Finland from the top ten. Sixteen of the countries considered by the study have above-average per capita purchasing power, while twenty-six fall below the European average. Ukraine takes last place with a per capita purchasing power of €1,703.

With the Corona Impact Index, GfK has also calculated the extent to which European countries have suffered as a result of the effects of COVID-19. The Corona Impact Index shows the differences in loss of prosperity among private households as a result of the coronavirus crisis, thus facilitating both national and regional comparisons within Europe. In the purchasing power top ten, Liechtenstein and Switzerland top the rankings with the highest disposable net income per capita in Europe. They are also the two countries that have suffered least as a result of the crisis.

The impact of the coronavirus in Liechtenstein is around 85 percent below the European average, while in Switzerland it is around 74 percent below the European average. Iceland and Norway, which occupy fourth and fifth places in the purchasing power rankings, fare less well in the Corona Impact Index and are 58 and 63 percent above the European average respectively. Occupying last place among the 42 countries in the rankings is Turkey, where the Corona Impact Index is more than 2.8 times the European average.