Two new GfK purchasing power studies evaluate purchasing power in Austria and Switzerland in 2017. The studies reveal substantial regional differences both within and between these two countries. GfK’s 2017 purchasing power data for Austria and Switzerland is now available.
GfK forecasts a per-capita purchasing power of €42,142 for Switzerland in 2017. According to the study, the total purchasing power for Switzerland in 2017 is €350.9 bil. (excluding Liechtenstein).
Austrians have an average of €22,597 per person for consumption-related expenses as well as rent and living costs. GfK reports a total 2017 purchasing power for Austria of approximately €196.6 bil.
By way of comparison, Germany’s total purchasing power amounts to €1,827.5 bil. This is not surprising given Germany's approximately 81 mil. inhabitants compared to 8.3 mil. in Switzerland and 8.7 mil. in Austria. In 2017, Germans have an average per-capita purchasing power of €22,239.
Purchasing power measures the available net income of the population, including government subsidies such as unemployment assistance, child benefit and pension contributions. GfK's study focuses on illuminating the regional differences in these values. The study thus reveals the regional distribution of purchasing power within and between the evaluated countries.
Switzerland
Comparison of cantons
Switzerland: Top ten cantons in 2017
| rank | canton | inhabitants | purchasing power in mil. € | per-capita purchasing power in € | per-capita purchasing power index* |
|---|
| 1 | Zug | 122,134 | 7,800.7 | 63,870 | 151.6 |
| 2 | Schwyz | 154,093 | 8,665.9 | 56,238 | 133.4 |
| 3 | Nidwalden | 42,420 | 2,174.7 | 51,265 | 121.6 |
| 4 | Zurich | 1,466,424 | 69,826.0 | 47,616 | 113.0 |
| 5 | Geneva | 484,736 | 22,507.9 | 46,433 | 110.2 |
| 6 | Basel-Landschaft | 283,231 | 12,576.9 | 44,405 | 105.4 |
| 7 | Basel-Stadt | 191,817 | 8,398.4 | 43,784 | 103.9 |
| 8 | Vaud | 773,407 | 32,339.7 | 41,815 | 99.2 |
| 9 | Aargau | 653,675 | 26,971.7 | 41,262 | 97.9 |
| 10 | Solothurn | 266,418 | 10,891.6 | 40,881 | 97.0 |
| source: GfK Purchasing Power Switzerland 2017 | *index per inhabitant; 100 = national average |
As in the previous year, the highest per-capita purchasing power is in the cantons of Zug, Schwyz and Nidwalden.
Due to the relatively small number of inhabitants, the purchasing power in these three cantons equates to only around five percent of Switzerland’s total purchasing power. By contrast, inhabitants of the canton of Zurich have almost €1.5 bil. at their disposal, which is 20 percent of the country’s total purchasing power. This means that the purchasing power of each inhabitant of the canton of Zurich is 13 index points above the national average. As such, the canton ranks fourth in the nation.
Inhabitants of the second most populous canton of Bern have a total of more than one billion euros of purchasing power. Even so, purchasing power in this canton is still 7.6 index points below the Swiss average of €38,974 per person. This puts the canton in fifteenth place.
Districts
The districts with the highest purchasing power are located in the cantons of Schwyz, Zug, Zurich, Nidwalden and Vaud. The average per-capita purchasing power in the district of Höfe is €92,374, which corresponds to an index value of 219.2 points. Some distance behind are the district of Meilen and the canton of Zug, which have €65,331 and €63,870 per person, respectively.
Among the top ten cantons, the highest purchasing power is in the district of Horgen, which is an urban district on the outskirts of Zurich. Inhabitants of this district have an average per-capita purchasing power of €52,742. The more than 54,000 inhabitants of this district thus have a total purchasing power of more than €6.4 bil. This equates to 2.5 times the purchasing power of the inhabitants of the top-ranked district of Höfe, who together enjoy a purchasing power of €2.6 bil.
Switzerland: Top ten districts
| rank | district | inhabitants | per-capita purchasing power in € | per-capita purchasing power index* |
|---|
| 1 | Höfe district | 28,231 | 92,374 | 219.2 |
| 2 | Meilen district | 100,964 | 65,331 | 155.0 |
| 3 | Zug district | 122,134 | 63,870 | 151.6 |
| 4 | Küssnacht (SZ) district | 12,423 | 59,997 | 142.4 |
| 5 | Horgen district | 122,549 | 52,742 | 125.2 |
| 6 | March district | 42,104 | 51,617 | 122.5 |
| 7 | Nidwalden canton | 42,420 | 51,265 | 121.6 |
| 8 | Nyon district | 97,232 | 50,620 | 120.1 |
| 9 | Lavaux-Oron district | 60,513 | 49,667 | 117.9 |
| 10 | Uster district | 127,679 | 48,018 | 113.9 |
| source: GfK Purchasing Power Switzerland 2017 | *index per inhabitant; 100 = national average |
Austria
Lower Austria is the only federal state whose purchasing power is significantly above (around four percent) the Austrian average. Vorarlberg is in second place, closely followed by Salzburg and Upper Austria, both of which also have slightly above-average per-capita purchasing power. With around €22,478 per person, inhabitants of Vienna come in at fifth place among Austria’s federal states.
Austria’s lowest-ranked federal states are Tyrol, Carinthia and Styria. Inhabitants of these federal states have an average purchasing power between €21,803 and 21,956, which equates to 2.8 to 3.5 percent less than the national average.
Austria: 2017 purchasing power in the federal states
| rank | federal state | inhabitants | per-capita purchasing power in € | per-capita purchasing power index* |
|---|
| 1 | Lower Austria | 1,653,691 | 23,554 | 104.2 |
| 2 | Vorarlberg 384,147 23,206 102.7 | 384,147 | 23,206 | 102.7 |
| 3 | Salzburg 545,815 22,789 100.9 | 545,815 | 22,789 | 100.9 |
| 4 | Upper Austria | 1,453,948 | 22,720 | 100.5 |
| 5 | Vienna 1,840,226 22,478 99.5 | 1,840,226 | 22,478 | 99.5 |
| 6 | Burgenland 291,011 22,388 99.1 | 291,011 | 22,388 | 99.1 |
| 7 | Styria 1,232,012 21,956 97.2 | 1,232,012 | 21,956 | 97.2 |
| 8 | Carinthia 560,482 21,807 96.5 | 560,482 | 21,807 | 96.5 |
| 9 | Tyrol 739,139 21,803 96.5 | 739,139 | 21,803 | 96.5 |
| source: GfK Purchasing Power Austria 2017 | *index per inhabitant; 100 = national average |
Districts
More than half of Austria's ten districts with the most purchasing power are in Vienna. Vienna's domination of the purchasing power ranking of Austria's districts is due not only to the area's high purchasing power, but also to the granular subdivision of the city into 23 districts. But the purchasing power range within Vienna is very large, which is apparent in the fact that the city also has districts that lead the ranking of Austria’s districts with the least purchasing power.
The district “Wien 1 – Innere Stadt” has a per-capita purchasing power of €38,463, which is 70 percent higher than the Austrian average and the nation’s wealthiest district. Second place goes to Vienna’s thirteenth district, Hietzing, which has around one-fifth less purchasing power. This district has a per-capita purchasing power of approximately €30,214, which is around 34 percent above the national average. With €28,849 per person, inhabitants of third-ranked Mödling in Lower Austria have around 28 percent more purchasing power than the national average.
Regional peculiarities are apparent in some areas, such as in the surroundings of Graz and Wels. In the districts of Graz-Umgebung and Wels-Land, the average per-capita purchasing power in the districts on the outskirts is slightly above that of the urban districts. Districts with high purchasing power can also be found on the outskirts of Vienna, such as in the districts of Mödling and Korneuburg.
Austria: Top ten districts
| rank | district | inhabitants | per-capita purchasing power in € | per-capita purchasing power index* |
|---|
| 1 | Vienna 1, Innere Stadt | 16,411 | 38,463 | 170.2 |
| 2 | Vienna 13, Hietzing | 53,813 | 30,214 | 133.7 |
| 3 | Mödling | 117,833 | 28,849 | 127.7 |
| 4 | Vienna 19, Döbling | 71,609 | 27,972 | 123.8 |
| 5 | Vienna 18, Währing | 50,283 | 26,535 | 117.4 |
| 6 | Vienna 4, Wieden | 32,751 | 26,223 | 116.0 |
| 7 | Korneuburg | 88,599 | 26,185 | 115.9 |
| 8 | Eisenstadt (city) | 14,226 | 26,152 | 115.7 |
| 9 | Vienna 8, Josefstadt | 25,054 | 25,900 | 114.6 |
| 10 | Tulln 100,851 25,838 114.3 | 100,851 | 25,838 | 114.3 |
| source: GfK Purchasing Power Austria 2017 | *index per inhabitant; 100 = national average |
Results from GfK’s 2017 purchasing power study on Germany
can be found in the press release from December 6, 2016 at http://www.gfk.com/insights/press-release/pp-germany-2017/
About the study
GfK Purchasing Power is defined as the sum of the net income of the population according to place of residence. These purchasing power figures take into account income related to self- and non-self employment as well as capital gains and government subsidies, such as unemployment assistance, child benefit and pension contributions. Not included in these calculations are expenditures related to living expenses, insurance, rent and associated costs such as utilities (gas and/or electricity), clothing and savings plans. Calculations are carried out on the basis of reported income and earnings, statistics on state taxes and deductions as well as economic forecasts provided by leading economic institutes.
Additional information
on GfK market data can be found at http://www.gfk.com/products-a-z/regional-market-data/.
Print-quality illustrations can be found here.
About GfK
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