Italy and Spain pay the highest price for basic school equipment despite having lower wages than France, Germany and the UK, Caspian Energy Media reports with reference to “Euronews” analysis of Europe's five largest economies found.
It follows research on 20 essential school items — such as pencils, pens, erasers, highlighters, markers, pencil cases, notebooks, diaries, drawing pads, scissors, etc — sold across supermarket chains and school shops within the same price range.
The heaviest burden is on Italian families, who need to save around 10.80%, or €202.71, of their monthly income to buy just the bare minimum, textbooks excluded.
Italy's national consumer association Federconsumatori denounced that the price for school essentials jumped by 6.6% from 2023.
This is how the top five economies ranked in basic school supplies purchases — textbooks, meals, school trips and sports equipment excluded:
1. Italy: 10.80% on an average after-tax monthly salary (€202.71)
2. Spain: 9.24% (€190.32)
3. Germany: 7.10% (€185.78)
4. UK: 5.65% (£162.68/€193.49)
5. France: 4.84% (€140.34)
