Which EU Country Has the Highest Consumer Confidence?

Key Takeaways

• Malta has the highest consumer confidence among 25 EU countries. Maltese households are protected from rising energy bills because the government keeps energy prices fixed.
• Lithuania ranks second in consumer confidence among 25 EU countries. One reason is a 2026 pension reform that let households take cash out of their pension funds.
• Greece has the lowest consumer confidence among 25 EU countries. High housing costs leave many Greek households with little money left each month.
• Household money worries shape the whole EU consumer confidence ranking. Two of the four survey questions behind the consumer confidence indicator ask families about their own finances.

Consumer Confidence Across EU Countries

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Malta Has the Highest Consumer Confidence Among 25 EU Countries

Malta ranks first in consumer confidence among 25 EU countries. Consumer confidence measures how positive households feel about money and the economy.

Every month, households across the EU answer four survey questions:

• How their household finances changed over the past year
• How they expect their household finances to change over the next year
• How they expect their country’s economy to change over the next year
• Whether they plan big purchases, like cars or furniture, over the next year

To get the consumer confidence indicator, the survey subtracts the share of negative answers from the share of positive answers. It then averages the result across the four questions. A consumer confidence indicator above zero means positive answers outnumber negative ones.

Malta’s consumer confidence indicator reached +5.7 in September 2026. One reason is how Malta handles energy bills.

Malta’s government keeps household energy prices fixed. Maltese families pay the same energy prices even when energy costs rise elsewhere in Europe.

Steady bills help Maltese households feel secure about their own finances. This lifts Malta’s consumer confidence indicator because two of the four survey questions ask about household finances.

Lithuania has the second-highest consumer confidence among 25 EU countries. Its consumer confidence indicator stood at +0.5.

Lithuanian households have more money to spend. A 2026 pension reform lets them take cash out of their private pension savings.

Which EU Country Pays the Highest Pensions? ->

Extra cash helps Lithuanian households feel better about their own finances.

Malta and Lithuania are the only two of 25 EU countries with a positive consumer confidence indicator. In the other 23 countries, negative answers outnumbered positive ones.

In contrast, rising prices help explain the negative consumer confidence indicators in the other 23 EU countries. Energy costs pushed up prices across the euro area in 2026. When prices rise, the same income buys less.

Greece Has the Lowest Consumer Confidence Among 25 EU Countries

Greece ranks last in consumer confidence among 25 EU countries. Its consumer confidence indicator stood at -41.6 in September 2026.

The low consumer confidence indicator reflects tight household budgets in Greece. In September 2026, 58% of Greek households said they were barely making ends meet. This means they could only just pay for their basic needs.

Housing costs are a big reason Greek budgets are tight. The housing cost overburden rate measures the share of people living in households that spend 40% or more of their disposable income on housing. Disposable income is the money a household has left after taxes.

Greece had the highest housing cost overburden rate in the EU. In 2024, Greece’s housing cost overburden rate reached 28.9%.

How Much Have House Prices Risen in the EU? ->

Because so much money goes to housing, most Greek families cannot save. Of all Greek households surveyed, 82% said they were unlikely to save money over the next 12 months.

From Malta to Greece, consumer confidence follows the same pattern. Households feel positive when they can keep their bills under control. They feel negative when costs use up most of their income.