Switzerland has one of the best standards of living in Europe, report finds
By Jan de Boer
A new report from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) has found that Switzerland has one of the highest standards of living in Europe. The government showed that once the cost of Swiss health insurance, social security, taxes and maintenance bills are deducted from salaries, what remains is the third-highest amount of disposable income in Europe.
Standard of living in Switzerland remains one of highest in Europe
In the latest survey, the FSO found that the standard of living in Switzerland "remains one of the highest in Europe." This means that, "despite the high price levels, the population’s financial situation, after deduction of obligatory expenditures, is more comfortable than that of its neighbouring countries and countries in the European Union.”
To calculate disposable income, the FSO calculated all the compulsory expenses for people living in Switzerland and deducted the total from their annual income. They then divided this amount by the average size of the family or household that is dependent on the income, revealing how much disposable cash every person has on average.
People in Switzerland have more disposable income than most EU states
In 2020, the median disposable income in Switzerland was 26.163 Swiss francs. The alpine nation’s score was only beaten by Luxembourg (28.675) and Norway (27.893).
In all, disposable income in Switzerland in 2020 was 2,1 times higher than in Portugal, 1,4 times higher than in France, 1,2 times higher than in Germany and 1,18 times higher than in the Netherlands. What is also notable is the wealth gap between the richest and poorest in Switzerland was smaller than in Germany, France and the EU as a whole, according to the FSO.
European countries with the highest disposable income revealed
Compared to other European nations, here are the countries with the highest and lowest disposable income:
For more information on methodology, and for other statistics about Switzerland, check out the FSO website.
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more