Life costs in Portugal and the other European countries have significant differences that affect the purchasing power of families and accessibility to essential goods and services. These costs are measured through indices that compare the prices of the various countries compared to the European average, allowing you to better understand the disparities on the continent.
According to Euronews, which analyzed data from the European Union (EU), price levels compare the cost of goods and services in each country with the community average using the purchasing power (PPC). These parities allow you to see how much, in each country, the same amount of money is worth.
How are living costs in Europe measured
The survey includes over 2,000 products and services, from food, beverages and clothing to hotels and restaurants, covering 36 European countries.
The EU uses two main indicators to measure the total cost of consumption: effective individual consumption, which includes public and private services consumed by families, and the final expense of families, which counts what they spend money directly.
Portugal between countries with costs below average
Portugal is slightly below the EU average, with a price level that surrounds the 90% of the community average. This means that, in general, living in Portugal is cheaper than in most northern and western European countries.
Countries such as Germany and France have closely or slightly above average prices, while Portugal maintains a more affordable cost of living, similar to Spain and Italy.
This position reflects the balance between prices of goods, services and the purchasing power of the Portuguese, even if average salaries are still lower than those of the most expensive countries.
Still, the relatively lower cost makes Portugal a more economical option for those who want to reside in Western Europe.
Regional differences and factors that influence prices
Northern and western European countries, such as Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg, have the highest price levels, exceeding 140% of the European average.
On the other hand, countries from Central and East Europe, such as Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, display substantially lower price levels.
The countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), such as Switzerland, Iceland and Norway, stand out for high prices, consequence of high wages and productivity.
According to Portugal, despite integrating the EU, it maintains lower costs, even though income is also more modest.
These data refer exclusively to prices, not considering salary differences, which means that the real purchase power varies between countries.
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