With the inflation rate showing high figures in practically the entire euro area, The effects of the successive increases observed in recent years continue to be felt in the portfolio. consumers, in particular with regard to prices of energy, housing, food or raw materials. That is the The cost of living continues to worsen.. In response to the general increase in prices, numerous posts have emerged on social media that draw parallels between the values practiced in Portugal and in other countries on the European continent. One of these publications He even makes a direct comparison with the supposed “lowest” cost of living in Switzerland.
In the publication, shared in recent weeks on Facebook, the author reveals that in “conversations with friends who came from Switzerland” he came to the conclusion that the costs of “housing, tobacco and food” are lower in Switzerland than in Portugal. oh mail he does not reveal any other sources, other than this comparison supposedly made by friends. Even so, several people deny this information in the comments of the publication, referring, for example, to the fact that the accusation made “it’s a big lie” and that in Switzerland “everything is much more expensive”. Is it true that the cost of living in Switzerland is lower than in Portugal?
Looking at data from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union (EU) responsible for publishing statistics and indicators that allow comparisons between countries and regions, the most recent figures we find in The prices of food, beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and tobacco refer to the year 2022..
Eurostat uses the Price level index (PLI) Compare the costs of various goods and services in Europe by dividing “purchasing power parities (PPPs) by the current nominal exchange rate.” The service “was not created to classify countries” in a careful way, since “it only provides an indicator of the order of magnitude of the price level of a country in relation to others.” Still, allows you to get a general idea of the cost of living in all 36 countries analyzed by Eurostat—and which include the 27 EU member states, six candidate countries to join the community bloc (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey) and three countries that make up the European Association of Free Trade (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).
On the Eurostat list we find Portugal practically in the middle of the table in terms of the total cost pie, with a Price Level Index of around 103, a figure slightly higher than the EU average (a figure set at “100”, for comparative purposes), but far from the values practiced by some European countries.
Portugal appears well below the Switzerland, which tops the table of 36 countries with an index of 163. Furthermore, the national figures are always far from the Swiss ones. in all the mentioned parameters: foods (101.2 versus 165.3), non-alcoholic beverages (129.0 versus 145.0), alcoholic beverages (115.1 versus 140.9) and even tobacco (89.0 versus 137 ,7). According to Eurostat, in this group of 36 countries, “Switzerland is the most expensive in food.Norway for non-alcoholic beverages, Iceland for alcoholic beverages and Ireland for tobacco.”
Regarding the cost of housing, the The latest Eurostat data, referring to 2021, also shows Portugal well below Switzerland., with an index of 80.0 compared to 196.8. In this case, the costs on national soil are even lower than the European Union average, the “100” Index mentioned above.
It is still important to remember that all these numbers refer to 2021 and 2022 and, for that reason, Does not include the inflation rate of the most recent months.. The National Institute of Statistics (INE) confirmed in recent days the inflation rate for August in 3.7%, ending nine consecutive falls throughout the year. Fuel prices were the main acceleration factor. Regarding nutrition, the rhythm of price growth has slowed in August up to 6.4%, compared to 6.8% registered in July. Already the housing rents increased slightly 0.4% in August compared to July, standing at 6.94%.
INE confirms acceleration of inflation to 3.7% in August, “essentially” due to fuel
Switzerland has also presented a stabilization trend throughout 2023. According to the Swiss statistics agency, the Consumer prices increased 1.6% in August. compared to the previous year, below the 2% target guided by the European Central Bank. Prices slowed in the food and non-alcoholic beverage sectors (4.1% vs. 5.3% in July), but increase in housing and energy (2.9% vs. 2.7%).
although There is no data that allows for a direct comparison. In fact, in both countries during the last year, these figures show a decrease or a stabilization of the inflation rate, both in Portugal and in Switzerland. For this reason, contrary to what the publication states, are not enough to justify such a large increasein just a few months, of the increase in the cost of living on Portuguese soil.
Conclusion
The publication is false. In addition to the comments themselves that deny the accusation made by the author of the mail, the most recent data from Eurostat places Portugal in the center of the table of European countries where food, tobacco and food prices are highest, far from Switzerland, which leads the group of 36 countries analyzed. Although the figures do not include an increase in the inflation rate in 2023, they show that Portugal is far from having a higher cost of living than Switzerland.
Thus, according to the Observer classification system, this content is:
MISTAKEN
In Facebook’s rating system, this content is:
FAKE: Major content claims are factually inaccurate. Generally, this option corresponds to “false” or “mostly false” ratings on fact-checking websites.
NOTE: This content was curated by Observador as part of a fact-checking partnership with Facebook.
Source: Observadora
