Romania is EU’s second cheapest country, with bloc’s lowest food prices but households still stretched

Overall price levels in the EU

In 2025, Romania’s general price level for household final consumption was 35% below the EU average, matching an index of 65 on the Eurostat scale where 100 equals the bloc’s mean. Only Bulgaria was cheaper, at 37% below (index 63). At the other end, Denmark stood 40% above the EU average (index 140), followed by Ireland (36% above, index 136), Luxembourg (32% above, index 132), and Sweden and Finland (both 21% above, index 121).

Food prices: cheapest in the bloc

For food and non-alcoholic beverages, Romania posted the EU’s lowest level at 80% of the average. Slovakia came next at 83%, while Poland and Czechia both reached 90%. The most expensive basket was in Luxembourg (122%) and Denmark (121%). Despite those low shelf prices, Romanian households devoted 23.1% of their total spending to food, well above the EU average of 13.2%.

Recreation and culture also cheapest

Romania also recorded the EU’s lowest prices for recreation, sport and culture, at 63% of the bloc’s average. Bulgaria placed second in this category at 66%, while Denmark topped the list at 141% of the EU mean.

The purchasing power picture

GDP per capita measured at purchasing power parity tells the fuller story. Romania and Croatia both reached 78% of the EU average, with Hungary at 76%. Bulgaria and Greece trailed at 68% each. Luxembourg (239% of average) and Ireland (238%) sat at the summit.

The figures must always be read together with incomes. What matters for living standards is not whether prices are high, but what a local salary can buy – purchasing power, not just the price tag.

Beyond the EU

When candidate and EFTA countries are included, the price gap widens to a factor of 3.7. Iceland was the most expensive European country at 83.7% above the EU average, Switzerland at 81%, and Norway about 38% above. North Macedonia sat at the opposite extreme with an index of 49.7, followed by Turkey at 52.2 and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 55. Western and Northern Europe consistently show higher price tags, while Central and Eastern Europe remain more affordable.