Geomarketing      
 
  Press Release  
 
Bruchsal, April 3, 2013
 
GfK releases 2013 purchasing power for Austria and Switzerland
 

This year's GfK purchasing power data for Austria and Switzerland is now available. Purchasing power levels vary substantially both between and within these two neighboring countries. The purchasing power study by GfK GeoMarketing reveals the regional distribution of purchasing power from the level of federal states down to detailed postcodes.

GfK GeoMarketing forecasts a 2013 per-capita purchasing power of €36,351 for Switzerland. The total purchasing power for Switzerland in 2013 is expected to be €289.2 bil.

The total purchasing power for Austria in 2013 is predicted to be €179.8 bil. On average, every Austrian will thus have €21,295 available for consumption, rent and living costs.

These figures put Austria and Switzerland ahead of Germany: The average German will have a purchasing power of €20,621 in 2013.

Purchasing power measures the available net income of the population, including government subsidies such as unemployment assistance, child benefit and pension contributions. The study by GfK GeoMarketing illumi-nates the regional differences in these values and reveals the regional dis-tribution of purchasing power within each individual country and interna-tionally.

 
 
Switzerland
 
 

Comparison of cantons
Four of the five wealthiest cantons in terms of per-capita purchasing power are located in Switzerland's German-speaking area, while only Geneva is located in the French-speaking area. By contrast, French-speaking Neu-châtel and Jura have very low purchasing power indices; on average, in-habitants of Jura have less three three-fourths of the per-capita purchasing power available to inhabitants of Geneva. Ticino, the only fully Italian-speaking canton, has a mid-level ranking with regard to per-capita purchasing power in Switzerland's cantons.

Switzerland: Top 5 cantons - GfK GeoMarketing

 

A different picture emerges when comparing total purchasing power among the cantons: The top spot goes to the country's most populous canton of Zurich, which has a total purchasing power of €57.6 bil. Zurich is followed by the canton of Bern, which has just under €33 bil.; third place goes to Vaud, which has €26.3 bil. Even so, the per-capita purchasing power of Bern (index: 92.1) and Vaud (index: 99.6) lies below the national average.

Comparison of districts
Of Switzerland’s 148 districts, the 15 districts with more than 100,000 in-habitants together comprise almost 40 percent of the country's disposable income.

Inhabitants of Höfe District in the canton of Schwyz – which encompasses Zurich's residential suburbs of Feusisberg, Freienbach and Wollerau – have an annual purchasing power of €79,202 per person, which is more than double the national average. As such, inhabitants of this district have almost 40 percent more purchasing power than inhabitants of the second-ranked district Meilen in the canton of Zurich (€57,207 per person, index: 157.4).

Switzerland: Top 10 districts - GfK GeoMarketing

 
 
Austria
 
 

Lower Austria will move ahead of Vienna in 2013 to take the top spot among Austria's federal states. The two federal states with the most inhab-itants together comprise more than 40 percent of the country's disposable income. Austria does not however have the stark variations in per-capita purchasing power that characterize Switzerland: The average inhabitant of the wealthiest federal state of Lower Austria only has approximately 7.4 percent more disposable income than the average inhabitant of the federal state of Carinthia. This equates to a difference of only €1,500.

Austria: Purchasing power rankings of the federal states - GfK GeoMarketing

Comparison of districts
Vienna is home to eight of the ten districts with the highest per-capita pur-chasing power in Austria. Stark contrasts characterize the 23 districts lo-cated in the nation's capital: The almost 17,000 inhabitants of the top-ranked district of Innere Stadt (index: 203.7) have more than twice the av-erage purchasing power in Austria. Conversely, inhabitants of the twentieth-ranked district of Brigittenau have an average of €25,600 less per year (index: 83.6).

Most of the top-ten districts outside of Vienna's municipal boundaries are located in the immediate surroundings of the capital. Lower Austria is sig-nificantly more homogenous than Vienna: Inhabitants of Mödling (index: 132) have an average of approximately €11,100 per person more than inhabitants of Zwettl (index: 80.1), Lower Austria's district with the lowest purchasing power.

Other large Austrian cities only make an appearance further down in the top 30 of the nation's purchasing power rankings: Linz - ranked 13 (index: 116.2), Salzburg – ranked 16 (index: 112.8), Klagenfurt – ranked 17 (index: 110.9), Innsbruck – ranked 24 (index: 106.9), Graz – ranked 27 (index: 105.9).

Austria: Top 10 districts - GfK GeoMarketing

Results of the study GfK Purchasing Power Germany 2013 can be found in the press release of 12 December 2012 at
www.gfk-geomarketing.com/purchasing_power_germany_2013
.

 
 
About the study
 
 

GfK Purchasing Power is defined as the sum of the net income of the population according to place of residence. 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. Not included in these calculations are expenditures related to living expenses, insurance, rent and associated costs such as utilities (gas and/or electricity), clothing and savings plans. 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. GfK first calculated purchasing power in 1937.

Applications of the data
The regional GfK purchasing power data serves as an important planning basis for sales and marketing endeavors among companies from diverse branches. A key insight provided by the data is an accurate illustration of the regional distribution of purchasing power. The focus of the study is consequently not on tracking data trends over the years, but rather on providing a prognosis that reflects this regional distribution.

Additional information on purchasing power can be found at www.gfk-geomarketing.com/purchasing_power.

 
 
About GfK GeoMarketing
 
 

GfK GeoMarketing's headquarters are located in Bruchsal, Germany. The company is a subsidiary of GfK. GfK is one of the world’s largest research companies, with more than 12,000 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2012, GfK’s sales amounted to €1.51 billion.

Additional information can be found at www.gfk-geomarketing.com.

 
 
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Managing director: Wolfram Scholz
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www.gfk-geomarketing.com

 
 
 
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