Managing money effectively is key to financial security, although the best way to secure strong returns on your cash isn’t always clear. In general, Europeans invest in fewer stocks than their American counterparts — instead choosing to save money in bank accounts.
Across the EU, habits around investment nonetheless differ widely, partially influenced by market offerings and different cultural perceptions around money.
Trade body the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) uses a ‘Household Market Investment Indicator’ to measure how much of household savings are channelled into capital markets instruments.
It looks at the value of financial instruments held by Europeans as a share of national output. The instruments included in the calculation are equity shares (stocks), investment fund shares (like ETFs), bonds, life insurance reserves, and pension fund holdings. It excludes cash, deposits, and unlisted equity .
“These options (market-based instruments) generally offer higher long-term returns than traditional bank accounts, which often lose value after inflation,” a spokesperson at AFME told Euronews Business.
Denmark and Sweden lead
According to AFME’s Capital Markets Union report, household financial assets in the EU were almost equal in size to the bloc’s GDP in the first half of 2025, coming to 94% of the total value.
The report comes as the EU is debating how to best structure its capital markets to allow investment to flow into critical sectors across the bloc.
Among EU countries, the ratio ranges from 16% in Romania to 194% in Denmark and Sweden. The Netherlands follows at 164%.
These three countries stand well above the rest, as Italy, in fourth place, has a ratio of 119%.
At the bottom of the ranking, savings in market instruments as a percentage of GDP is 16% in Romania. Next is Lithuania at 18% and Bulgaria at 20%.
The ratio is 122% in the UK, which is no longer an EU country.
Countries that record high investment levels “typically combine three elements”, said the AFME spokesperson. “These are well-developed pension schemes (e.g. NL, US, and the Nordics), tax benefits for investing, and simple, user-friendly investment accounts.”
The AFME highlighted Sweden’s Investment Savings Account (ISK) as a strong example of how policy can encourage citizens to invest. These accounts make it easy and tax-efficient to invest in things like stocks, ETFs, and funds, said the group.
The spokesperson noted that countries that lack these features often see lower engagement with capital markets and citizens often stick to low-yield savings accounts.
Capital markets savings per person
Rather than ratios alone, AFME figures also show the scale of investments. In the first half of 2025, household financial assets per person in the EU averaged €42,069.
Among EU members, it varies from €2,880 in Romania to €150,034 in Denmark.
Capital markets savings per person also exceed €100,000 in the Netherlands and Sweden.
Luxembourg ranks fourth at €76,937, demonstrating how far ahead the top three countries are.
Nine EU countries, making up one in three in the bloc, have less than €10,000 in capital markets savings per person. Besides Romania, these countries are Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania, Greece, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
This figure is €75,463 in the UK, the highest among Europe’s top five economies.