Wealth disparity in the Netherlands is small compared with other European countries, the central statistics office CBS says on Monday.

In a report on prosperity in the Netherlands, the CBS says the gap between rich and poor remained virtually the same between 2001 and 2012. The exception was 2007 when many top managers in private companies kept more of their salaries because of advantageous fiscal rules.

Spending power was down 0.1% in 2012, and also fell in the previous two years. Freelancers and those on benefits were the worst hit, the CBS says.

The average household income after tax in 2012 was an average €33,200. ‘Taking inflation into account and with households shrinking, an average household had 15% more to spend than in the early 1990s,’ the CBS says.

The lowest incomes are found in the east of the province of Groningen and in Limburg. The highest are mainly in the west of the country in councils such as Laren and Bloemendaal, and in Rosendaal in Gelderland and Alphen-Chaam in Brabant.

The subject of economic equality is in the news following the publication of a book by the French economist Thomas Piketty, who says the gap between rich and poor is growing exponentially and will lead to disastrous consequences.