Where in Europe do families save the most? Sweden and Hungary, at the top. Greece, in negative territory
Net household saving represents the portion of income that is not spent on final consumption. According to the OECD, net household saving rates vary widely across Europe. In 2024 or 2025, they range from -9.3% in Greece to 14.7% in Sweden and Hungary, compared to an EU average of 8.1%.
Greece is the only country in negative territory. This means that households there spent more than their net disposable income, either drawing on accumulated savings or borrowing to finance their spending. In addition to Hungary and Sweden, the net household saving rate exceeds 10% in the Czech Republic (13.7%), France (12.8%), Germany (10.3%) and the Netherlands (10.2%). Spain (9.2%) and Ireland (9%) also remain above the EU average.
While France, Germany and Spain have savings rates higher than the EU average, the United Kingdom (4.7%) and Italy (3.2%) have relatively lower figures. In Latvia, the rate is zero — meaning households spend every penny of their income. Slovakia (2%), Estonia (3%), Portugal (3.4%) and Lithuania (3.8%) are all below 4%. Two Nordic countries also fall below the EU average: Denmark (7.5%) and Finland (4.4%).
Greece was recording the highest share of households with consumption over income in the EU at the height of its sovereign debt crisis in 2015, and the second highest after Romania) even around 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when consumption opportunities fell sharply.
The savings rate in Greece was mostly positive in the early 2000s, although it briefly fell below zero several times. Things changed significantly from 2010, as the debt crisis pushed the rate deep into negative territory, reaching its lowest point of -16.5% in 2013.
After returning to near zero in 2021, Greece fell again to -12.2% in 2022 and has remained around -9% since then.
The EU average remained broadly stable over the same period, with a significant increase to 12.4% in 2020, as lockdowns due to the pandemic left households with less to spend.
Greece was one of the EU countries in 2024 where the average level of adjusted gross disposable household income per capita was more than 20.0% below the EU average according to Eurostat.
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