site.btaEurostat: Bulgaria with Cheapest Alcohol, Tobacco and Clothing among EU Countries in 2022

The price levels of goods and services on which households' final consumption expenditure is based differed significantly across the European Union in 2022, Eurostat reported on Wednesday. The lowest price levels in 2022 were recorded in Romania (58%), Bulgaria (59% of the EU average) and Poland (62%), while the highest were registered in Ireland (146% compared to the EU average), Denmark (145%) and Luxembourg (137%). Bulgaria had the cheapest alcohol, tobacco and clothing in the EU last year.

The most significant difference across EU countries was recorded last year in the average prices of alcohol and tobacco. The lowest levels were recorded in Bulgaria (66% of the EU average), followed by Poland (73%) and Hungary (78%). Alcohol and tobacco were most expensive in Ireland (216% of the EU average), Finland (174%) and Denmark (138%). The substantial difference in average prices of these products is mainly due to the different excise duty rates they are taxed at in EU countries, Eurostat notes. 

Restaurants and hotels in the different EU countries rank second in terms of price differences. The lowest price levels in 2022 were again reported in Bulgaria (51% of the EU average), Romania (61%) and Hungary (62%). At the other pole are Denmark (156%), Finland (132%) and Luxembourg (131%). 

According to Eurostat, clothes were also the cheapest in Bulgaria last year (80% of the EU average), followed by Hungary (83%) and Romania (84%). The most expensive clothes were bought in Denmark (134% of the EU average), Sweden (117%) and the Czech Republic (115%).