The latest data released by Eurostat highlights a significant divergence in household real income, across the European Union, from 2004 to 2024.

Household real income are the earnings of a household that have been adjusted for inflation to reflect its true purchasing power. The metric shows how much a household can actually afford to buy, while accounting for changes over time, such as a rise in the cost of living.

In these past two decades, real household income per capita in the EU increased by 22% on average — however, not all EU member states experienced this level of growth.

Image Credit: Eurostat

According to Eurostat figures, Greece and Italy were the only countries where household real income per capita actually dropped — in Greece by 5%, and in Italy by 4%.

In stark contrast, several countries achieved impressive growth. Romania saw the largest increase in household real income per capita (134%), followed by Lithuania (95%) and Poland (91%). The lowest increases among countries that did see growth were recorded in Spain (11%), Austria (14%), Belgium (15%), and Luxembourg (17%).

As household real income per capita in Greece has remained more or less stagnant over two decades, Greeks are also finding it hard to save.

In 2024, the EU countries with the highest gross saving rates were countries like Germany, Czechia, Malta and Hungary.

But Romania and Greece both had negative saving rates in 2024, which indicate that households there are either using their existing savings, or borrowing further, to finance their current household expenditures.

Image Credit: Eurostat