According to Eurostat, the cheapest grocery basket in the EU by the basket index is Romania with a score of 66,7, which is 33,3% below the EU average. These differences affect household expenditures and matter for Ukrainian consumers and labour migrants in the EU.
Cheapest countries and indices
Food is generally cheaper in Eastern European and Balkan countries, in particular the index is 59,8 in North Macedonia, 67,9 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 68,8 in Serbia. Turkey has an index of 82,1 — more expensive than some EU member states but below the EU average; at the same time Turkey has recorded the highest food inflation in Europe.
Most expensive countries and cost of the basket
The most expensive grocery basket is in Switzerland — 137,90 euro, in Norway — 116,10 euro. Other expensive countries include Luxembourg (99 euro), Austria (88,10 euro) and Denmark (87,70 euro).
Among the five largest economies, France has the highest basket cost — 87,40 euro, Italy — 80 euro, Germany — 75,20 euro, Spain — 63 euro, the United Kingdom — 69,10 euro. In Moldova the basket is the cheapest — 41,10 euro.
Calculation methodology and additional data
Numbeo lists 19 items in the “Markets” category, and Euronews Business collected prices for these items in October 2026. The sum of prices for 18 items, each counted once, gives an average basket cost in the EU of 69,84 euro.
Associate Professor Ilaria Benedetti of the University of Tuscia noted that although prices in some countries are below the EU average, households spend a larger share of their budgets on food: in Romania this share is 23,1% of expenditures on food and non‑alcoholic beverages, and in Bulgaria it also exceeds 20%.
Temporary protection status for Ukrainian citizens
As of 31 August 2026, 4,43 million Ukrainian citizens held temporary protection status, Eurostat notes. Compared with 31 July 2026 the number increased by 3 290 people (+0,1%).
The largest absolute increases were recorded in Germany (+4 330; +0,3%), Romania (+3 440; +1,6%) and the Czech Republic (+3 135; +0,8%).
