Do you know which is the most expensive country in Europe for alcohol? Well, take a guess! How about Germany, the land that’s ever in love with beer? What about France, the home of several enticing varieties of wine? Or, how about Italy, where there’s never an empty glass alongside some pizza and pasta? How about the land that birthed the Vodka, Russia? Maybe, England, that’s home to several boozy nights, day and day out all along the year? Perhaps, it may pleasantly surprise you when you get to know the most expensive country in Europe for alcohol.
Believe it or not, among the most serene and pleasant of all European countries, Finland happens to be the most expensive country in Europe for alcohol.
The above was confirmed in a piece of recent news that emanated on a leading European news platform!
The news stated that Finland has been ranked as the country in EU with the most expensive prices for booze. This has been confirmed according to inputs from “Eurostat,” which suggested that while Finland topped the list of a special price index, countries like Bulgaria and Romania lay at the other end of the spectrum.
So now the question is, how is the above calculation done and results achieved? Here’s what you ought to know:
Each European country’s value on the index is calculated relative to two important factors (in this case), that include- the cost of living and the EU average (cost).
In fact, what’s also known is that while Finland happens to be the most expensive country in Europe for alcohol, the situation in the country has become so strife-driven for the locals who enjoy good booze that they’ve had to take a rather drastic step to get their hands on some affordable alcohol.
So how does a Finn get himself acquainted to good alcohol nowadays? Apparently, the Finns have begun to travel to destinations such as Estonia (over 7 hours by car) to get alcohol owing to the high prices back home. The prices of alcohol in Estonia are far cheaper when compared to those in Finland.
It’s thought this trade was affected when Estonia increased its booze tax in a bid to tackle traditionally high levels of consumption.
This pushed up the price of alcohol in Estonia and encouraged natives to cross into Latvia in search of cheap drink.
The two Baltic neighbors are embroiled in a booze tax war as they seek to protect their income from alcohol duty.
Outside the bloc, in countries such as Norway and Iceland, prices are even higher. But while we now know the ongoing strife between Finland and alcohol prices, which are the countries where the cost of booze is relatively cheaper, hence, well within the reach of the commoner?
To that end, it’s worthwhile to know that countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain, Poland, and Germany are the nations in Europe where the alcohol prices are relatively cheaper. Also, prices in nations like Austria, The Netherlands, Croatia, Cyprus, and Belgium are slightly higher than those in the previous set of EU countries but not that expensive at the end of the day.
Along with Finland, countries like Iceland, Norway, and Ireland are where the alcohol prices are sky-rocketing!