Regionalized GfK purchasing power data for Austria and Switzerland

Bruchsal, Germany, June 13, 2017 – 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

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

source: GfK Purchasing Power Switzerland 2017                    *index per inhabitant; 100 = national average