Real household income per person since COVID-19 and over the last decade has changed unevenly across the EU, Euronews Business writes.
How have real household incomes per capita changed in Europe over the last 10 years?
Growth has generally been more modest in the Nordic countries, while in many Eastern and Central European countries it has been more pronounced. Trends over the past decade also vary widely across Europe.
They increased by 17% between 2014 and 2024. In 2020, growth largely stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as in many other countries, and some states even recorded a decline. Growth then gradually resumed and eventually, compared to pre-pandemic levels, revenues increased by 7% between 2019 and 2024.
What is household income?
Household income per person is calculated as adjusted gross disposable household income divided by total population. What does this mean in practice?
This figure shows how much money is left over for households to consume or save. It is calculated after deducting income taxes and contributions to pension systems.
Importantly, it also includes the value of services that households receive free of charge from government and non-profit organizations, such as education and health care.
“Real” means that the nominal value is adjusted for price increases using the deflator of actual final consumption expenditures of households.
According to Eurostat data for 2024-2025, the highest adjusted gross disposable household income per capita in purchasing power standards (PPS) is consistently recorded in Luxembourg. This indicator provides Luxembourg residents with the highest level of material well-being among European countries.
Weakest growth in the Nordic countries since the pandemic
Croatia had the highest growth in real household income per capita over the last five years at 26%. Malta’s income grew by 24%, Hungary’s by 20%, Romania’s by 19% and Poland’s by 16%, also ranking it among the countries with the highest growth of more than 15%.
With the exception of Malta, these countries are outside the euro area, and income dynamics also reflect changes in national currencies. But this is not the case for Sweden and Denmark.
