Individual consumption in Malta below EU average

Malta ranked among four member states in the European Union whose actual individual consumption (AIC) in 2015 was 10-20% below the EU average, along with Spain, Lithuania and Portugal.

The AIC is a measure of material welfare of households.

Last year, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) across EU member states varied from 53% of the EU average in Bulgaria to 137% in Luxembourg.

In total, AIC per capita for thirteen member states lay between the EU average and 30% below. The levels were 10% or less below the EU average in Italy, Ireland and Cyprus, while the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland and Estonia were between 20% and 30% below the average.

Five member states recorded AIC per capita more than 30% below the EU average. Latvia and Hungary were between 30% and 40% below, while Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria had AIC per capita more than 40% below the EU average.

On the other hand, ten member states recorded AIC per capita above the EU average in 2015. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, where it was 37% above the EU average, ahead of Germany where it was more than 20% above. They were followed by Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Finland, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Sweden which all recorded levels between 10% and 20% above the EU average.

Over the last three years, AIC per capita relative to the EU average remained relatively stable in a majority of member states. However, clear increases have been registered in Romania (59% of the EU average in 2015 compared with 54% in 2013), Bulgaria (53% vs. 49%) and Lithuania (83% vs. 79%), as well as Estonia (71% vs. 68%). In contrast, the most noticeable decrease was recorded in Luxembourg (137% in 2015 vs. 145% in 2013), followed by the Netherlands (111% vs. 115%), Austria (119% vs. 123%) and Greece (77% vs. 80%).