UK standard of living rises to fourth highest in Europe

Data released by Eurostat, the office for statistics of the European Union (EU), has shown that the standard of living has improved in the UK.

In this recent report, the UK has overtaken the Netherlands to join Denmark, Sweden and Finland in joint-fourth position.

UK Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) 15% higher than EU average

The report uses the AIC per head as a measure of all the goods and services that a household consumes, adding health and education services into the analysis.

Using this data, Eurostat showed the standard of living was 15% higher in 2013 than the EU average.

Luxembourg claimed the top spot with AIC 36% above the EU average, with Germany second and Austria close behind in third place. Their standards of living were 22% and 20% above the average.

Of those countries measured, the relative standard of living rose the most in Poland, Estonia and Latvia.

Prices in the UK are 14% higher than EU average

Comparing relative price levels, Eurostat found that the prices paid by UK households for consumer goods and services were the sixth highest in the EU in 2013, unchanged in position from last year.

Prices in Denmark were the highest at 42% above average, while prices in Bulgaria remained the lowest at 56% below average.