cs flag go to the original language article
This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by CTK.

The standard of living in the Czech Republic last year rose to 91 pct of the EU average, which is on par with Slovenia

by AI | 18.Dec 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Of the countries that joined the EU since 2004, Czechia is tied for third place with Slovenia.

People with shopping bags – illustrative photo. Photo: Georg Wendt/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++

Prague – The standard of living in the Czech Republic slightly approached the European Union average last year. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita expressed in purchasing power standards increased by one percentage point to 91 percent of the EU average. The Czech Republic is thus at the level of Slovenia, and its standard of living is the highest among the Visegrad Group countries (V4; Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary). This is according to data published today by the Czech Statistical Office (CSO) in the Statistical Yearbook 2024.

Bulgaria has long had the lowest GDP per capita in purchasing power standards in the EU, reaching 64 percent of the EU average last year. Conversely, the highest standard of living is in Luxembourg, where it was 234 percent of the EU average last year.

Among the countries that joined the EU since 2004, the Czech Republic ranks third with Slovenia. Ahead of it are Cyprus, where the standard of living reached 95 percent of the EU average last year, and Malta, which is the only new member country to exceed the EU average, with GDP per capita in purchasing power standards reaching 105 percent of the average. Among the older member countries, the standard of living is lower than in the Czech Republic in Spain (88 percent), Portugal (83 percent), and Greece (67 percent). Among the V4 countries, the Czech Republic ranks best, followed by Poland with 80 percent of the EU average, Hungary with 76 percent, and Slovakia with 73 percent.

The Czech economy declined by 0.3 percent last year and was among the 11 European countries whose GDP decreased year-on-year. Last year, the Czech Republic maintained its position with the lowest unemployment rate, even though it rose by 0.4 percent to 2.6 percent. It remained significantly below the European average, which was 6.7 percent. (December 18)