Have you heard? NIQ and GfK are now one website. Learn more

Press Releases

GfK releases 2016 purchasing power for Austria and Switzerland

Press Releases

GfK releases 2016 purchasing power for Austria and Switzerland



New 2016 GfK purchasing power data is now available for Austria and Switzerland. Purchasing power levels vary substantially both between and within these two neighboring countries. GfK’s study reveals the regional distribution of this purchasing power.

GfK forecasts a 2016 per-capita purchasing power of €42,300 for Switzerland. According to the GfK study, the total purchasing power for Switzerland in 2016 is €348.5 bil. (excluding Liechtenstein), while the total 2016 purchasing power for Austria is approximately €193.5 bil. The latter figure corresponds to an average of €22,536 available to each Austrian for consumption, rent and living costs.

Due to Germany’s significantly larger population, its purchasing power of €1,776.5 bil. is many times higher than that of its previously mentioned neighbors. The average German thus has a 2016 purchasing power of €21,879.

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 illuminates the regional differences in these values, revealing the regional distribution of purchasing power within and between each individual country.

Switzerland

Comparison of cantons
Inhabitants of Zug – Switzerland’s most affluent canton – have 1.5 times the purchasing power of the national average. Inhabitants of the second- and third-ranked cantons, Schwyz and Nidwalden, have purchasing power levels that exceed the Swiss average by approximately 36 and 22 percent, respectively. Only seven of the 26 cantons have an above-average per-capita purchasing power, which shows that even in affluent Switzerland, there are significant regional differences in purchasing power.

Switzerland: Top 10 cantons in 2016


rank

canton

inhabitants

per-capita
purchasing power
in €

per-capita
purchasing power
index*

1

Zug

120,089

64,990

153.6

2

Schwyz

152,759

57,023

134.8

3

Nidwalden

42,080

51,579

121.9

4

Zürich

1,446,354

47,824

113.1

5

Geneva

477,385

47,465

112.2

6

Basel-Landschaft

281,301

44,341

104.8

7

Basel-Stadt

190,580

43,880

103.7

8

Vaud

759,354

42,070

99.5

9

Aargau

645,277

41,160

97.3

10

Solothurn

263,719

40,894

96.7

source: GfK Purchasing Power Switzerland 2016                  
* index per inhabitant; 100 = national average

The three least wealthy cantons – Glarus, Uri and Jura – have purchasing power levels between 13 and 19 percent below the Swiss average. Even so, inhabitants of the least affluent canton Jura still have €34,095 per person, which is significantly more than inhabitants of Starnberg, Germany’s district with the highest purchasing power (€31,850). But Swiss inhabitants must also pay substantially more for accommodation and food.

Districts
There is a wide distribution of purchasing power values at the district level in Switzerland’s cantons. In Schwyz – Switzerland’s second-most affluent canton – each inhabitant has an average of €57,023. But regional differences are apparent within this canton upon close inspection.
For example, inhabitants of the district of Gersau have around five percent more purchasing power than the Swiss average. But this means these inhabitants have around 30 percent less purchasing power than the canton average. Inhabitants of the district of Küssnacht have on average 45 percent more income than the Swiss average, and the average purchasing power in the district of Höfe is more than twice as high as the national average.

The purchasing power gap is smaller in canton St. Gallen, whose inhabitants have an average purchasing power of €36,905. Inhabitants of the constituency See-Gaster am Obersee have an average purchasing power of €39,130, while inhabitants of the constituency Toggenburg have only €32,731, which is ten percent below the canton average.

Switzerland: Top 10 districts

rank

district

inhabitants

per-capita purchasing power in €

per-capita purchasing power index*

1

Höfe district

28,028

94,073

222.4

2

Meilen district

99,946

65,825

155.6

3

Zug canton

120,089

64,990

153.6

4

Küssnacht (SZ) district

12,395

60,650

143.4

5

Horgen district

121,220

52,978

125.2

6

March district

41,575

52,156

123.3

7

Nidwalden canton

42,080

51,579

121.9

8

Nyon district

95,548

51,137

120.9

9

Lavaux-Oron district

58,624

50,058

118.3

10

Uster district

126,004

48,182

113.9

source: GfK Purchasing Power Switzerland 2016                  
* 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 ranked second, closely followed by Austria, Salzburg and Vienna, all of which are just above the national average. The other federal states have below-average purchasing power. A consideration of the purchasing power per household yields some interesting insights. Lower Austria leads again in this regard with values that exceed the national average by eight percent. Vorarlberg has a household purchasing power around seven percent above the average, followed by Burgenland. Vienna has the lowest purchasing power per household at around ten percent below the national average. This is indicative of a higher number of single-person households in Austria’s capital; in households with just a single earner, the average purchasing power per household is correspondingly lower.

2016 purchasing power in Austria’s federal states


rank

federal state

inhabitants

purchasing power index per inhabitant*

purchasing power index per household*

1

Lower Austria

1,636,778

104.4

107.8

2

Vorarlberg

378,592

101.2

106.5

3

Upper Austria

1,437,251

100.5

104.4

4

Salzburg

538,575

100.3

103.1

5

Vienna

1,797,337

100.3

90.4

6

Burgenland

288,356

99.0

104.6

7

Carinthia

557,641

96.9

96.6

8

Styria

1,221,570

96.9

98.7

9

Tyrol

728,826

95.5

98.6

source: GfK Purchasing Power Austria 2016         
* index per inhabitant/household; 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 rankings for Austria’s districts is due not only to the area’s genuinely higher purchasing power, but also to the granular subdivision of Vienna into 23 districts.
The district “Wien 1 – Innere Stadt” has a per-capita purchasing power of €40,217, which is 79 percent higher than the Austrian average. Second place is occupied by Vienna’s thirteenth district, Hietzing, which has around one-fourth less purchasing power. This district has a per-capita purchasing power of approximately €30,576, which is around 36 percent above the national average. With €29,101 available per person, inhabitants of third-ranked Mödling in Lower Austria have around 29 percent more purchasing power than the national average. The city district of Eisenstadt is ranked tenth with a per-capita purchasing power around 16 percent higher than the national average.

Compared to the previous year, the discrepancy in the purchasing power between city districts and their surrounding areas has decreased in some instances. This is the case for Linz and Linz-Land, Klagenfurt and Klagenfurt-Land, Sankt Pölten and Sankt Pölten-Land as well as Eisenstadt and Eisenstadt-Umgebung.

Findings of the 2016 GfK purchasing power study for Germany
can be reviewed in the press release from December 14, 2015 at http://www.gfk.com/insights/press-release/germans-purchasing-power-climbs-two-percent/.

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. Expenditures related to living expenses, insurance, rent and associated costs such as utilities (gas and/or electricity), clothing and savings plans have to be covered by this sum. 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’s 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
GfK is the trusted source of relevant market and consumer information that enables its clients to make smarter decisions. More than 13,000 market research experts combine their passion with GfK’s long-standing data science experience. This allows GfK to deliver vital global insights matched with local market intelligence from more than 100 countries. By using innovative technologies and data sciences, GfK turns big data into smart data, enabling its clients to improve their competitive edge and enrich consumers’ experiences and choices.

Additional information can be found at www.gfk.com.
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gfk.

Responsible under press legislation / V.i.S.d.P.
GfK GeoMarketing GmbH
Public Relations
Cornelia Lichtner
Werner-von-Siemens-Str. 9
Gebäude 6508
76646 Bruchsal; Germany
T+49 7251 9295 270
cornelia.lichtner(at)gfk.com


Download (PDF)