Bratislava City Review

BRATISLAVA HIGHLIGHTS

In 2016, Bratislava's labour productivity stood at USD69,500 - 161% higher than of the rest of the country's. This productivity stems from the capital's dominance as the financial centre of Slovakia (out of 26 local and foreign banks in the country, 25 are based in Bratislava). The city's business services sector - the most productive sector - is the largest in the country (business services generated 29% of the total GVA in Bratislava in 2016 versus 15% in the rest of the country).

Higher labour productivity boosts household disposable incomes

Higher labour productivity helped Bratislava's households achieve a disposable income of USD25,800 per household in 2016, 16% higher than in the rest of the country. While disposable income was 17% lower than that of Ljubljana in 2016, it was 28% higher than in Budapest and 21% above Warsaw.

Greater spending on recreation/culture, and healthcare and education

As of 2016, consumer expenditure per household (transport and housing excluded) in Bratislava was 5% higher than in the rest of the country. The largest discrepancies in spending between Bratislava and the rest of the country are seen in the categories of recreation/culture, healthcare and education, with these allocated 58%, 34%, 11% higher levels of expenditure, respectively, in the capital.

Higher spending on housing due to over-valued real estate market

In 2016, combined expenditure on housing and transport in Bratislava stood 10% higher than in the rest of Slovakia. The difference stems from Bratislava's over-valued real estate market. With the average monthly salary, a person in Bratislava could only purchase 0.4 sq m of real estate per month in 2016 - one of the lowest ratios in Europe.