Wroclaw, Poland
Price convergence between EU countries is a natural process. In a common market – without trade barriers, with free movement of people, goods and capital – prices become more and more similar over time. Poland is still a relatively inexpensive country compared to other EU countries, but the price gap is closing rapidly.
This is clearly visible in practice in the border regions. Buyers are choosing cheaper markets – for example, German residents in recent years have been actively refueling in Poland and the Czech Republic, where fuel was cheaper due to lower taxes. The increased demand led to price increases already on the Polish side.
The sharpest price hike in Poland occurred in 2024. Then the price level in the country approached the EU average by 4.5% at once: from 60.3% to 72.2%. In 2025, the growth amounted to 0.7%. At the same time, prices in the Czech Republic and Hungary grew faster in 2025 – by 1.3% and 1.7%, respectively.
If we look at a longer period, we can see that Poland is converging with the EU price level faster than many other countries. Since 2020, prices have risen from 59.8% to 72.9% of the EU average – that is, by 13.1%. This is one of the highest rates in the EU. The situation is even clearer in comparison with Germany. In five years, Polish prices have approached German prices by 11.2%. Now in Poland, on average, it is 34.7% cheaper than in Germany. Five years ago, the difference was 45.9%.
The data shows that the main jump occurred after the COVID-19 pandemic and especially after the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine. In 10 years, Poland has moved 14.2% closer to the EU average price level, and almost all of this growth has come in the last five years. This shows how much the external crises have affected the price level and cost of living in the country.
Where are the highest prices in the EU
Among the expensive countries, Sweden had the fastest price growth in 2025 – it even moved slightly away from the EU average. Among cheaper countries, Croatia was the fastest to catch up – its prices approached the EU average by 2.3%.
One of the key reasons is rising wages. In industries like retail, labor costs take up a large part of the cost of goods. When wages rise, this has a direct impact on prices.
In addition, Polish goods remain in high demand abroad. Some products are exported, which causes the supply on the domestic market to decrease and prices to rise.
