Romania reaches Portugal's living standard, Eurostat data shows
Eurostat reveals Romania's real individual consumption per capita reached 86% of the EU average. Romania's living standard is now on par with Portugal and Slovenia. Prices in Romania are among the lowest in the EU, at 58.9% of the average. Bulgaria has also made significant gains, reaching 77% of the EU average. This measure better reflects household well-being than GDP per capita.
Romania reached 86 percent of the European Union average in real individual consumption per capita, matching Portugal and Slovenia, Eurostat reported.
The figure reflects what households actually consume, both goods they purchase and services the state provides, such as healthcare and education. Economists consider the measure more reliable than GDP per capita for assessing material well-being. Prices in Romania stand at 58.9 percent of the EU average, according to the same data. Only Bulgaria offers lower costs in the region, at 60 percent. Bulgaria itself climbed to 77 percent of the EU average in real consumption, overtaking Estonia, Latvia, and Hungary, all at 73-74 percent.
Ten years ago Bulgaria stood at 55 percent.
The Eurostat release, published this month, captures 2024 data for the 27 member states. Real individual consumption adjusts for price differences across countries, allowing direct comparison of purchasing power. Romania's convergence with older member states marks a shift in the EU's economic geography. Portugal joined the bloc in 1986; Romania in 2007. Slovenia, which entered in 2004, recorded the same 86 percent figure. No official from the Romanian government commented on the data by the time of publication.
The European Commission uses real consumption alongside GDP and employment indicators to monitor cohesion policy outcomes. Bulgaria's decade-long rise, 22 percentage points since 2015, represents the steepest improvement among southeastern member states. Hungary, by contrast, added only modest ground over the same period.
Eurostat defines real individual consumption as the total value of goods and services consumed by households, whether purchased in the market or received as social transfers in kind, adjusted for price level differences. The metric excludes collective services such as defense and infrastructure. Romania's cost of living remains among the lowest in the Union. The gap between prices and consumption levels suggests that nominal income figures understate the actual standard of living Romanian households experience.
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