Which European countries are the cheapest and most expensive?

The same shopping basket can cost almost four times as much depending on where you are in Europe. But which countries are the most expensive, and how can they be compared fairly?

Eurostat's price level indices provide the answer. They compare the cost of consumer goods and services in each country with the EU average.

In simple terms, if the same basket of goods and services costs €100 on average across the EU, how much would that basket cost in each country?

To make the comparison representative, Eurostat bases the indices on annual national average prices for more than 2,000 goods and services.

There are two ways of measuring prices. One looks only at what households spend directly, while the other also includes publicly funded services such as healthcare and education.