PURCHASING power in Slovakia grew by 20 percent year-on-year to reach €6,120 per person in 2008, representing the largest increase among the Visegrad Four (V4) countries, according to a GfK survey carried out in 41 European countries, reported the TASR newswire.
The average purchasing power in V4 countries is about half that of the European average, which stands at €14,892. Purchasing power for Polish citizens increased by 13 percent in 2008, for Czechs by 12 percent and for Hungarians by only 2 percent, TASR wrote. In Slovakia, the highest level of purchasing power was registered in Bratislava region, while the lowest was in the eastern part of the country.
Small and rich European countries stood at the top of the list, while large economies were somewhat further down, with those of France and Germany ranking 9th and 10th, respectively. Liechtenstein took first place with €44,851 per person in purchasing power after taxes.
The highest purchasing power among the newer EU members was achieved in Slovenia and the Czech Republic, which took 21st and 23rd places. Slovakia ranked 26th in terms of purchasing power, which also takes into account unemployment allowances, children’s benefits and pensions. Moldova finished last among the countries in the study, with its citizens having less than €800 a year, on average, in per capita purchasing power.
