IRELAND HAD the highest price levels for consumer goods and services in the European Union in 2021, Eurostat has said today.
Along with Denmark, Ireland had the highest price levels at 140% of the EU average.
This was followed by other member states Luxembourg (132%), Sweden (128%) and Finland (126%).
The lowest prices were found in Poland (60%) and in Romania and Bulgaria, both at 56%.
This information comes from data on price levels for consumer goods and services published by Eurostat.
The data also shows that the widest price gaps were in restaurants and hotels and for alcohol and tobacco.
In 2021, the price level for restaurants and hotels was almost 3.4 times higher in the most expensive country than in the cheapest one. Price levels ranged from 46% of the EU average in Bulgaria, 54% in Romania and 62% in Hungary, to 155% of the average in Denmark, 137% in Sweden and 133% in Finland.
Alcohol and tobacco ranked second in terms of price level difference, with the lowest price levels registered in Bulgaria (64% of the EU average), Poland (72%) and Hungary (79%) and the highest in Ireland (205%), Finland (173%), Sweden (136%) and Denmark and France (both 134%). This large price variation is mainly due to differences in taxation of these products.
Food & non-alcoholic beverages were cheapest in Romania (69% of the EU average) and Poland (72%), while they were most expensive in Luxembourg (125% of the average), Denmark (120%) and Ireland (119%).
Clothing is a group of products where prices differed less among the Member States, ranging from 76% of the average in Bulgaria to 134% in Denmark. Personal transport equipment also recorded a smaller price disparity among Member States, with Poland (81% of the EU average) cheapest and Denmark (138%) most expensive. Price differences were also limited for consumer electronics, from 88% of the average in Poland to 113% in the Netherlands.
