New statistics on income levels in EU countries have sparked a debate in the European media on the topic “where is it good to live in Europe.” After all, the cost of living and purchasing power differ greatly across the continent. According to data published by the German Federal Bureau of Statistics, living in France, Italy and the Benelux countries, not to mention super-expensive Denmark, will be more expensive for your wallet than in Germany. If we take the average cost of living index in the European Union as 100%, then in Germany it will be higher by only 4.3%. At the same time, in Denmark it will exceed the average by 37.9%, in Ireland by 27.3%, in Luxembourg by 26.6%, Finland - by 22.5%, Sweden - by 18.5%. On the other hand, in the countries of “new Europe” - Poland and the Czech Republic - wages are much lower, but people pay less for food, housing and electricity. The cheapest place is in Bulgaria - the consumer basket here will cost almost half the average European level, but the quality of life is much lower. The cost of living outside the European Union is especially high: in Iceland - 56% higher than the European average, in Switzerland - 52%, Norway - 48%. Türkiye looks extremely cheap - 57% below the average European index. According to the international database Numbeo, which takes the cost of living in New York as 100%, in Europe only Switzerland, Iceland and Norway exceed this level of high cost. In Germany, the corresponding figure is 74.35%, France - 83.86%, Great Britain - 75.85%, Italy -79%, Spain - about 62%, Czech Republic - 50%, Poland - 45% and Hungary - 48.6 %.

According to the international recruiting agency Glassdoor, which conducted an assessment based on purchasing power(differences in income and expenses), among European countries in the labor market, Switzerland is the most attractive, significantly ahead of Germany and Denmark. The average annual salary in Switzerland is 72 thousand euros - which is 1.7 times higher than in the USA, where it is 41 thousand euros, and seven times higher than in Greece, where it does not exceed 10-12 thousand euros. At the same time, we should not forget the high cost of living in Switzerland: Geneva and Zurich are much more expensive than New York, which is included in the list of the most expensive cities in the world. Food in Switzerland is also traditionally more expensive than in Germany, and the Swiss regularly go on shopping trips to German supermarkets. As for France, this country, according to the French economic publication Les Echos, does not look very attractive in comparison with its European neighbors. Although the cost of living in France is cheaper than in the super-expensive UK, Denmark or Ireland, and life in Paris is also 35% cheaper than in New York, it doesn’t spoil everything high salaries. The average Frenchman earns a gross of 36 thousand euros per year - slightly less than in Germany, but with a more expensive consumer basket. In Germany, citizens get much more goods and services for their money than residents neighboring countries“old” Europe (France, Italy, Benelux). At the bottom of the salary ranking are Estonia - 1 thousand euros per month, Greece - 900, Czech Republic - 870, Poland - 750, Lithuania, Hungary and Latvia - 650-690, Bulgaria - 420. It should be noted that all salary data are given gross , excluding taxes, insurance and social contributions, which in Western European countries can reach up to 50% and sometimes exceed this level.

In addition to the income-expense ratio, there are other factors that determine the quality of life. These are climate, ecology, level of education and culture, friendliness local residents, integration prospects for foreigners. It is difficult to call the atmosphere in Switzerland, Denmark or Norway cheerful, and the climate in the UK is not very pleasant. It is not for nothing that Spain tops the list of European countries in terms of attractiveness for living, except for one thing - low wages. At the same time, “the best city in the world” according to the majority rating agencies Vienna is recognized as combining German order, Italian fun, cultural diversity and the beauty of the surrounding nature - with quite decent salaries.

The conclusion of most observers: there are no ideal countries in Europe, but based on the sum of points, the American agency Glassdoor came up with the following rating:

1. Switzerland takes first place. Despite the monstrous high cost, salaries here are among the highest in the world (72 thousand euros per year). The purchasing power of the Swiss is twice that of New Yorkers.

2. Denmark is in second place. Despite the high cost, the average annual salary of 55 thousand euros allows you to maintain high purchasing power.

3. Third place goes to Germany. Despite wages comparable to France, prices are lower here and, accordingly, purchasing power is higher. Renting housing in Berlin and other cities is much cheaper than in Paris.

4. Sweden occupies fourth place. Although average salaries of 40 thousand euros are lower here than in Norway, housing costs are also much lower and the overall quality of life is higher.

5. The Netherlands is rated quite highly, where annual salaries of 45 thousand euros are well combined with a low cost of living and good purchasing power.

6. In Finland, salaries are comparable to Western European ones, but the cost of living is much cheaper than in the UK or Norway.

7. Norway is an extremely expensive country, and even a high salary of 60 thousand euros does not allow you to feel like you are in a “consumer paradise”. Oslo is the fourth most expensive city in Europe after Zurich, Geneva and London.

8. Ireland provides a good quality of life, but an annual salary of 50 thousand euros may not be enough given the rapidly rising cost of living.

9. Austria, with salaries comparable to the UK, maintains moderate housing prices and the consumer basket. In terms of quality of life, this is one of the preferred options, and Vienna is recognized as the best city in the world.

10. Closes the top ten best countries Great Britain. Salaries here are higher than in France, but the cost of living is also much higher. Renting an apartment or hotel room in London will be a strain on any wallet.

12. Belgium, despite a decent salary of 41 thousand euros, lags behind in attractiveness due to high housing prices.

13. Spain is attractive in all respects - except for the level of salaries. However, the country is ahead of Italy in the European "attractiveness" ranking.

14. Italy is also characterized by low wages and fairly high prices. At the same time, in last years the situation is improving, renting apartments in Rome is becoming affordable.

15. Portugal is at the bottom of the table: it is very low level salaries (15,500 euros per year), the country is suffering from austerity measures. However, the cost of living and apartment rentals are affordable for foreigners who came not to work, but to relax.

InoSMI materials contain assessments exclusively of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the InoSMI editorial staff.

Some Russian banks stopped accepting deposits in euros, among them were the largest credit organizations countries- Sberbank and VTB, Alfa-Bank, FC Otkritie. Others have started introducing fees on euro accounts- this is what, in particular, Citibank and Avangard did. Problem- negative rates in the eurozone, due to which transactions with the euro may be unprofitable for banks. Expert on stock market"BCS Broker" Albert Koroev explains how it happened that rates were below zero, and what this means for those who hold assets in the European currency.

Five years have passed since the European central bank established negative interest rates for the first time. He was the first of the largest emission centers to decide on this practice. It was followed in 2016 by the Bank of Japan. As a result, in 2019, the world experienced a situation where the volume of government and corporate bonds with negative yields reached $17 trillion.

In September, the Bank of Russia already banks about the risks of deposits in euros, noting that they may receive negative margins on operations to raise funds in this currency. And market participants themselves asked the regulator to change the law and allow them to set negative rates on deposits. First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Shvetsov, however, said that these measures can only affect legal entities.

Where did negative rates come from?

The ECB entered into a new reality with its decision at the June 2014 meeting to lower deposit rate to a negative value– 0.1%. Now she has already dropped to– 0.5%. This means that banks that keep their excess reserves in an appropriate account with the ECB are forced to pay for their storage, while the usual order of things in modern financial system suggests the opposite situation- that is, a bonus for such placement of funds.

The ECB explained that it took these measures to countertoo low inflation, which in those years transformed into deflation for a short period.Classic view of economists- is that deflation leads to a reduction in aggregate demand, an increase in unemployment, a fall in asset prices and, as a consequence, a slowdown in economic growth, so monetary authorities are trying to counter this phenomenon.

In fact, the regulator forced banks to buy government bonds of Eurozone countries. German government bond yields today– 0.6%. Greece, which a year ago received assistance from the IMF, today can borrow on the market at rates lower than the United States, a country that has a reserve currency, and transnational corporations.

How it works

It would seem that in this situation, banks receive losses in any case, why would they buy assets with negative returns? However, this is not quite true. The fact is that the regulator itself is buying up the same assets- hence the price increase, which is the other side of working with bonds. That is, buying a bond with a yield– 0.5% and selling it at profitability– 0.6%, the bank makes money on the price difference. This is better than guaranteed to lose by placing funds in ECB accounts.

A number of central banks have almost directly spoken about their goals to reduce the value of the national currency by introducing negative rates, which actually supports the competitiveness of their exporters, who in this case receive more revenue in national currency. This is the Central Bank of Denmark and Switzerland. However, the Bank of Japan, of course, is guided by the movement of the yen due to the strong dependence of the economy on exports. However, in modern realities, the United States, led by Donald Trump, opposed such assertive measures, accusing everyone and everything of unfair devaluation against the dollar.

What does this threaten?

The situation really does pose a lot of risks.Bonds with corporate ratings below investment grade, which are called “junk”, have entered the negative rate zone in significant volumes. On the European market, 2% of the total volume of such bonds have a negative yield. That is, investors buy low-quality assets in an attempt to get at least some return.

In theory, negative interest rates should help stimulate economic activity, but there is a chance that such a policy will have the opposite effect. Because banks hold certain types of assets, such as mortgages, that are contractually tied to an interest rate, negative interest rates can squeeze profit margins to the point where banks have an incentive to reduce lending.

How low can you go?

Banks seemed to have an alternative back in 2014- keep reserves in cash rather than in ECB accounts. But in fact, this is even more expensive, since it requires costs for transportation, storage, and security.

At the same time, it is obvious that in order to achieve balance in conditions where they are forced, in fact, to pay the ECB for placing their funds, commercial banks began to actively reduce their deposit rates. But they are limited in these actions.

Why should the public pay banks if there is no direct ban on cash? Hence all the talk about their possible ban. The ECB has already stopped issuing the largest €500 banknote. Nothing will stop deposit holders from withdrawing their funds and storing cash under the mattress. This is fraught with a run on banks (mass withdrawal of deposits), which can lead not only to growth interest rates, but also to bankruptcies.

In fact, this is the exact opposite of what negative interest rates were intended to achieve.

This is not to say that the situation is insoluble. Experts from the International Monetary Fund made assumptions about the possibility of introducing electronic and cash separately, that is, not completely banning cash, but imposing a kind of tax on it. However, those who may need it most today, namely the Eurozone countries, may experience more significant difficulties with this than the regulators of a single country.

This will require important changes in financial and legal system. In particular, fundamental issues relating to monetary law will need to be addressed and consistency with the IMF legal framework will need to be ensured. It will also require a huge communication effort.

What does this mean for investors?

The above factors pose some risks for the euro and assets denominated in this currency. Negative rates are cutting into the profits of European banks and inflating bubbles in low-quality assets. But so far the ECB has managed to cope with the situation, and without external shocks the regulator will control the situation in its domain.

For the ordinary Russian investor, who previously preferred to keep some amount in European currency, now there is a choice: either keep cash, or look for profitability not in the bank, but on financial market by investing in bonds or shares denominated in euros.

Obviously, by keeping cash, the investor does not receive any return. If he still wants to diversify his savings by currency and receive profitability, there is still an option to transfer funds from euros to dollars. But here, too, the return on deposits is quite low, and the Federal backup system(US Central Bank) is moving towards further rate cuts. When choosing investments in bonds and shares denominated in euros, you will have to spend some time studying these financial instruments and choosing the best ones for yourself.

Below the standard of living in European countries understands several cumulative factors that influence and determine the lives of the country's citizens. Also, the way Europeans live is directly influenced by the economic development of the state. The indicator under consideration also takes into account non-material factors. For example, such parameters as the environmental indicators of the state or the psychological comfort of living in the country are taken into account.

The standard of living in European countries is usually assessed based on the following factors:

• Average life expectancy (the birth rate, infant mortality rate and mortality due to accidents and road traffic accidents are taken into account).
• The number of working citizens (the number of unemployed and existing conditions labor).
• Average salary (taking into account per capita income, including children and pensioners).
• The cost of living for the unemployed and disabled.
• The coefficient calculated between subsistence minimum and average wages.
• A coefficient calculated between the earnings of the richest 15% and the poorest 15% of citizens in a country.
• The ratio of expenses and income of citizens of the country.
• Consumer price indicator.
• The degree of infrastructure development (in particular, transport, medical institutions and social organizations).
• Sanitary and hygienic living conditions in the state.

This is interesting! In Russia, the indicators also include the cost of the consumer basket, which includes the necessary food products for a month’s living.

TOP - 3 states reflecting the standard of living in European countries + video

1. Denmark.

This is one of the richest states not only in Europe, but also in the world as a whole. The basis of Denmark's wealth is oil and gas produced in the North Sea and sold to Germany and the Netherlands. In addition, mechanical engineering and the production of meat products of the highest quality occupy a significant place in the country’s budget. Developed fishing supplements the budget.

The average salary in Denmark is about 3,500 euros. Moreover, the citizens of the country do not work according to established laws, and by employment contracts, which are concluded individually between trade unions and each company.

The average life expectancy in Denmark is also the longest in Europe - about 80 years, and the average pension is 2,800 euros, which is more than 10 times higher than the Russian figure.

At the same time, the gap between the richest and poorest Danes is minimal, and the coefficient between earnings does not exceed 10. That is, a general worker at a metallurgical plant receives 3,000 euros, and the director of this enterprise receives no more than 30,000 euros. In Russia, this coefficient is measured in tens (and sometimes hundreds) of thousands.

1. Switzerland.

One of the few developed European powers that are not members of the European Union and have not adopted the euro as their internal currency. Switzerland is a living example of what you can have very high level life in European countries and not have huge oil reserves.

The basis economic well-being- high-quality chemical and pharmaceutical products. Medications from Switzerland are considered the best in the world and have practically no analogues. The budget is also replenished by the export of watches and jewelry, famous throughout the world. Swiss cheese and chocolate are extremely popular.

Despite the fact that 85% of the state's area is located in the highlands, Switzerland has a very developed chemical production and advanced agriculture, and is among the top ten industrialized countries.

The average salary in Switzerland is about 4,000 francs. Considering that Swiss frank is more expensive than the euro (the exchange rate is 1 franc - 0.94 euros), then the salary of the country's citizens is more than decent. The gap between the richest and poorest Swiss is minimal. The coefficient is 8.3 units.

The pension size starts from 7,500 francs and ends at 45,000 francs. Moreover, 7,500 francs is a pension provided by the state and is received by any citizen of the country who has reached the age of 65.

1. Sweden.

Perhaps the calmest country in Europe, ideal for living. Has the most developed economy in the region. Companies such as Oriflamme, Saab, Volvo, TELE2, Ericsson were created in Sweden. The state produces everything with equal success, from household chemicals and cosmetics to cars and airplanes.

Every Swedish citizen is guaranteed to receive an education, medical service the highest level and work. The average salary is 2500 euros. Of particular note is the fact that the income of the richest exceeds the income of the poorest by only 4.5 times. And here the average size The pension is not so large - about 1000 euros per month.

After review and evaluation important factors that affect life in a particular state, you need to turn to the topic of obtaining an EU passport. The video will tell you how to do this and what is required for this.

Standard of living in European countries: ranking of Eastern Europe

It should be said that the standard of living in Eastern Europe is much lower than in Western Europe. This is due to the fact that for many years Eastern Europe was influenced Soviet Union. With the collapse of the USSR, these countries had to re-create their economies, which threw them back into industrial development for decades. Despite this, Eastern European countries are rapidly increasing their indicator and in a few years it will be quite comparable to Italian or Spanish.

1. Czech Republic.

Among all states of Eastern Europe The highest standard of living is in the Czech Republic. The fundamentals of the economy are metallurgy (including ferrous, a legacy of the USSR), mechanical engineering, chemical and food industries. Besides, good income tourism brings into the treasury.

The average monthly salary is about 900 euros. This is several times less than in Northern and Western Europe, but much higher than in Russia and post-Soviet space. The gap between the incomes of the poorest and richest population is about 25 times.

The average pension in the Czech Republic is about 500 euros, which is not much by European standards, but a lot for Russian pensioners.

1. Poland.

Over the past ten years, the situation in Poland has changed dramatically. And if the standard of living in European countries has increased by several percent, then in Poland it has increased significantly. This happened largely thanks to reasonable economic policy, but the help of the United States and the European Union also bore fruit.

Polish prosperity is ensured by mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, machine tools, clothing and technical industries. The agricultural complex in Poland is also one of the most developed in the world.

The average salary in Poland is 800 euros (4800 zlotys), and the minimum wage is only 200 euros. Of course, these are not large amounts and are quite comparable to Russian wages. For this reason, many Poles go to work in the UK, Denmark or Sweden. Citizens of Ukraine are very often hired for work (especially in the production sector). The gap between the incomes of the poorest and richest population is about 40 times. The average pension in Poland is 300 euros, which is also not too much even by Russian standards.

We invite you to watch an interesting video that will tell you about government assistance in purchasing real estate.

Standard of living in European countries 2018: table

The standard of living of Europeans is undoubtedly high, but the gap between some countries is still very large. Actually, this is precisely what explains the fact that the euro as monetary unit not introduced in Eastern European countries. This would devalue the currency and cause crashes on the currency exchanges.

However, the standard of living indicator has gradually leveled off in recent years. But it will not be possible to finally overcome the barrier soon. Economic experts set aside at least 30 years for the standard of living in European countries (Western and Eastern Europe) to completely level out.

Standard of living in European countries 2018, the table is as follows:

A country	Quality of life index	Purchasing Power Index	Safety index	Healthcare	Cost of living index	Climate index
Denmark
Switzerland
Sweden
Czech
Poland
Russia

As can be seen from the table, the standard of living in European countries (Western and Eastern Europe) exceeds Russia in almost all indicators. Moreover, Western European states also benefit in size wages, and in terms of security level.

Conclusion

To be fair, it must be said that the standard of living in European countries has not changed for quite some time. The indicators are stable, these states are at the peak of their development. But the states of Eastern Europe and Russia are progressing and their indicators are improving every year, albeit not as fast as we would like.

Agriculture in Russia is almost five times behind Europe in terms of labor productivity. This is stated in the report of the UK National Statistical Office, which in 2017 analyzed this indicator for nine sectors of the economy.

As the director of the FBK Institute for Strategic Analysis stated, presenting this research in Russia,

On average, labor productivity in Russia is almost three times lower than in European countries.

If we evaluate it in terms of euros per hour, it turns out that productivity is agriculture and fisheries in Russia is 1.8 euros, while the EU average is 9.5 euros (a difference of 5.3 times). In industry and trade, it differs almost three times: thus, productivity in Russian industry per hour is 14.1 euros, and in EU countries - 38.9 euros. In trade, our productivity is 8.5 euros per hour, in EU countries - 24.5 euros per hour.

The situation in financial and insurance activities is slightly better - in Russia it is 24.6 euros per hour, in EU countries - 55.7 euros, a difference of 2.3 times. The lag is least in science: 2.1 times.

If we analyze labor productivity data in US dollars at purchasing power parity (PPP), then Europe's labor productivity gap will be slightly smaller. In particular, in agriculture - 2.5 times, in IT and communications - 1.8 times, in public administration - 1.5 times, in trade - 1.4 times.

Meanwhile, the task of increasing labor productivity is one of the priorities for Russia. Russian officials have repeatedly spoken about this. In particular, the May 2012 presidential decree set the task of increasing labor productivity by 1.5 times by 2018 relative to 2011.

According to Igor Nikolaev, this task was not completed: instead of a 1.5-fold increase (50%), labor productivity increased by only 5.5%.

At the same time, in the new May decree President of 2018, the task of increasing labor productivity was again set. To do this, in particular, it must grow at medium and large non-resource enterprises by at least 5% per year.

Labor productivity is now one of the national projects that is supervised by. The department began its implementation in 2017. Currently, 19 regions and 100 pilot enterprises are involved in it.

“The national project sets ambitious goals for the ministry: by 2024, productivity should increase by 5% annually, over the next 6 years it is necessary to attract a total of 10,000 enterprises in all regions of Russia,” says the materials of the Ministry of Economic Development.

The ministry even created a special “productivity and efficiency” department for these tasks. The corresponding message about this appeared on November 16. The department was headed by , who worked as an assistant to the minister, and before joining the civil service, she worked at the consulting company McKinsey.

Previously, “Opora Rossii” proposed creating a special body that would be responsible for productivity, “since the growth of labor productivity in the country’s economy is impossible without government incentives.”

According to Finam analyst Alexey Korenev,

It must be admitted that labor productivity in Russia as a whole is extremely low. Only a few industries, mainly related to high-tech, can boast of efficiency comparable to their Western counterparts

The lag is generally due to the use of outdated technologies and worn-out equipment, insufficient quality of organization of business processes and a number of other factors.

There are also objective reasons related to climate and geographical features Russia, Korenev believes. Vast distances and difficult working conditions in a number of regions lead to higher logistics costs. The low labor mobility of Russians also has an impact, which makes the labor market less flexible.

According to the expert, the country is in dire need of radical economic reforms, which will qualitatively change investment attractiveness state, will improve the business climate in the country and make the work of entrepreneurs more efficient.

You probably guessed that Russia has one of the lowest minimum wages. Now it is 11,280 rubles. Do you think there are countries in Europe where the minimum wage is lower? Let's take a look together at the salary level in European countries.

Let’s agree that we calculate the level of salaries “in hand,” so to speak, i.e. minus taxes.

So, from January 1, 2019, the federal minimum wage in Russia is 11,280 rubles. Of course, it may differ for different regions of the Russian Federation (but for us this is not so important now). If you subtract the standard income tax 13% of the minimum wage, we get the amount of 9813.6 rubles - this is how much an employee in Russia can receive after working completely for one month.

These are 135.89 € and 151.37 $.

European countries with the highest minimum wage (even after taxes)

Switzerland is the leader in terms of minimum wages. Here, if you work for a month, you will be paid at least 2709 €. This is 195,605 rubles.

Next come several dwarf states with giant minimum wages: Luxembourg - 1738 € (125,493 rubles), Monaco - 1695 € (122,388.54 rubles) and San Marino - 1583 € (114,301.51 rubles).

We won’t list all the countries; basically, the highest salaries are concentrated in Western Europe and also in Greece. In the latter, after deducting all taxes, the minimum wage is 637 € (45,995 rubles), and only slightly less in Portugal - (44,984.10 €).

Countries with an average minimum wage (still much higher than in Russia)

The top position is occupied by Estonia - 516 € (37,258.10 rubles).

Most of the former communist bloc countries in Europe are evenly distributed between these two countries: Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia and so on. Lowest salaries in the former Yugoslavia - they are all part of the bloc low salaries together with Russia (more about them below).

Countries with salaries around Russia and below

IN Southern Europe the lowest salary level is in Macedonia: only 203 € remains for a person after taxes (14,657 rubles). All countries of the former Yugoslavia have similar figures, with the exception of Croatia, which remains one level higher. We also add Bulgaria here - the same low level.

Well, is it not so disgusting to live in Russia? Someone's life is clearly worse.