A Euronews analysis has found that countries with lower wages like Italy and Spain surprisingly pay more on average for basic school equipment compared to richer European economies.
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Italy and Spain pay the highest price for basic school equipment despite having lower wages than France, Germany and the UK, a 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.
The most expensive items are backpacks, pencil cases and diaries.
Who pays the most?
This is how the top five economies ranked in basic school supplies purchases — textbooks, meals, school trips and sports equipment excluded:
- Italy: 10.80% on an average after-tax monthly salary (€202.71)
- Spain: 9.24% (€190.32)
- Germany: 7.10% (€185.78)
- UK: 5.65% (£162.68/€193.49)
- France: 4.84% (€140.34)
If Spain's rising costs are partially justified by inflation — the fourth highest in the EU in June — the same can’t be said for Italy, which had the second lowest one in the block (0.9%).
Although textbook prices vary from school to school, they add a substantial burden: €591,44 on average in Italy and €491.90 in Spain, the highest ever, according to price comparison website Idealo, with a €42.67 increase on last year.
Costs spike in Germany and the UK while France fares better
The picture is getting increasingly worrying in Germany as well, where the price of school items rose between 5 and 13% from 2022 to 2023, according to the National Statistics Office.
In the UK, a basic school kit seems generally more affordable.
However, unlike in other countries, uniforms are mandatory in all British schools, bringing in an additional cost of about £422 (€500), according to a Hodge Bank analysis reported by Euronews.
France seems to have the best deal among Europe's big five, with essential school items weighing less than 5% on an average monthly salary.
Furthermore, the country's Confédération Syndicale des Familles (CSF), a national confederation of family associations, reported an overall decrease of 6.8% in school spending within French households in 2024.
The French Education Ministry nonetheless urged schools to limit their requests.
"Schools and institutions must focus on producing reasonable supply lists", said an appeal published in August. "Reducing the financial burden on families at the start of each school year must be a top priority."