Only Bulgarians are worse off.
Actual individual consumption (AIC) is a measure of the material wealth of individual households. Croatia acheived only 59 percent of the average of the rest of the European Union last year. Although this was a slight improvement compared to the year before when this indicator was at even lower 58 percent, this actually represents the return to the value for 2014, reports Jutarnji List on June 14, 2017.
According to data from the European statistical office (Eurostat), the only country in the EU which is currently worse off than Croatia is Bulgaria, both by the standard of living of the average household and by the GDP when it is adapted to purchasing power parity.
In addition to the personal consumption of goods and services, the actual individual consumption also measures services which households receive from non-profit organisations and the state, such as healthcare, other medical services and education.
There are ten countries in which the actual individual consumption per capita in 2016 was above the EU average. The highest level was recorded in Luxembourg, with consumption being 32 percent above the EU average. Germany and Austria were at about 20 percent above the average, followed by the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden, where consumption was between 10 percent and 15 percent above the EU average.
Actual individual consumption per capita was between the EU average and 25 percent below the average. In Ireland, Italy and Cyprus, the consumption was 10 percent below the EU average, while Spain, Lithuania, Portugal, and Malta were between 10 and 20 percent below average. The Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia were between 20 and 25 percent below average.
In six other EU member states, actual individual consumption per capita was recorded to be more than 30 percent below the EU average. Estonia, Latvia, Hungary, and Romania were between 30 and 40 percent below average, with Croatia and Bulgaria at the very bottom.
