In the EU, only Bulgaria has lower prices (51% of the EU average). The highest prices are in Denmark (142%), followed by Sweden (128%) and Finland (125%), according to Eurostat data, based on 2011 prices.
Romania’s price level index climbed from 59% of the EU average in 2010 to 60% in 2011.
Electronics in Romania cost 105% of the EU average, like in Finland and more than in Belgium (104%), France (101%), Germany and the Netherlands (99%) or the United Kingdom (95%). Malta has the highest prices on electronics, 125% of the EU average.
Romania has the same price level for clothing as Portugal and Lithuania (93%), but higher than Ireland (92%), Poland (89%), Spain (88%) or Hungary (85%). The lowest prices are in Bulgaria (75%), while the highest are in Sweden (133%).
The Romanian price level for personal transport equipment (cars, motorcycles, bicycles) is, at 88% of the average, among the lowest in the EU. With the exception of Denmark, with 167% of the EU average, price levels for this category do not vary as widely, from 83% in Bulgaria to 122% in Portugal.
The lowest prices in Romania compared with the rest of the EU are for food and non-alcoholic beverages (68%), alcohol and tobacco (66%), and those charged by hotels and restaurants (50%).
Gross Domestic Product per capita in Romania was equal to 49% of the EU average in 2011, three points higher than in 2010, while in other Eastern European states this indicator increased by less or even decreased, according to Eurostat.
Romania and Bulgaria remain the poorest European Union member states by GDP per capita expressed in purchasing power standards. The indicator grew slightly in Bulgaria, from 44% of the EU average to 45%.