Malta's individual consumption down, GDP up - Eurostat

Malta's Individual Consumption decreased slightly in 2013 and saw its GDP increase by a similar margin, according to a Eurostat report published this morning.

The report uses Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) as a measure of material welfare of households. In 20132, AIC per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) varied from 49% to 136% of the EU28 average across the Member States. 

Actual individual consumption per capita 

Actual Individual Consumption consists of goods and services actually consumed by individuals, irrespective of whether these goods and services are purchased and paid for by households, by government, or by non-profit organisations. In international volume comparisons of consumption, AIC is often seen as the preferable measure, since it is not influenced by the fact that the organisation of certain important services consumed by households, like health and education services, differs a lot across countries.

The highest level of Actual Individual Consumption per capita in the EU28 was recorded in Luxembourg, at more than 35% above the EU28 average. Germany and Austria were around 20% above the average and Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and France recorded levels between 10% and 15% above the average, while Italy was on the average.

In Ireland, Cyprus and Spain levels were up to 10% below the EU28 average, while Portugal, Greece and Malta were between 10% and 20% below. Lithuania, Slovenia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were between 20% and 30% below the average, while Estonia, Latvia, Hungary and Croatia were between 30% and 40% below. Romania was just under 40% below the average, while Bulgaria was around 50% below the average.

These data, published by Eurostat, are based on revised purchasing power parities, and the latest GDP and population figures. They cover the 28 EU Member States, three EFTA Member States, five candidate countries and one potential candidate country.

GDP per capita varied by one to six across the Member States

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a measure of economic activity. In 2013, GDP per capita expressed in PPS ranged between 45% of the EU average in Bulgaria and 257% in Luxembourg.

AIC and GDP per capita in PPS, EU28 = 100

* Based on ESA 95 Countries with the same value of AIC per capita are ranked by protocol order

The Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) is an artificial currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries. Thus one PPS buys the same volume of goods and services in all countries. This unit allows meaningful volume comparisons of economic indicators across countries. Aggregates expressed in PPS are derived by dividing aggregates in current prices and national currency by the respective Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The level of uncertainty associated with the basic price and national accounts data, and the methods used for compiling PPPs imply that differences between countries that have indices within a close range should not be over-interpreted.

The regular publication schedule of PPPs includes four estimates for a particular year. The first estimate for 2013, based on data compiled using ESA 95 and partly on projections, was published in News Release 96/2014 of 18 June 2014. The present News Release corresponds to the second estimate. The 2013 figures will be revised again in December 2015 and finalised in 2016.