(27 February 2014) – In 2011, GDP per capita, expressed in terms of purchasing power standards, in the EU28’s 272 NUTS-2 regions ranged from 29% of the EU28 average in the regions of Severozapaden in Bulgaria and Nord-Est in Romania, to 321% of the average in Inner London in the UK.
The leading regions in the ranking of regional GDP per capita in 2011, after Inner London in the UK (321% of the average), were the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (266%), Brussels in Belgium (222%), Hamburg in Germany (202%), Bratislava in Slovakia (186%), Île de France in France and Groningen in the Netherlands (both 182%), Stockholm in Sweden (173%), and Prague in the Czech Republic (171%).
It should be noted, however, that in some regions, like Brussels and Hamburg, the GDP per capita figures can be significantly influenced by commuter flows. Net commuter inflows in these regions push up production to a level that could not be achieved by the resident active population on its own. There is a corresponding effect in regions with commuter outflows.
The eight lowest regions in the ranking were all in Bulgaria and Romania, with the lowest figures recorded in Severozapaden in Bulgaria and Nord-Est in Romania (both 29% of the average), followed by Severen tsentralen (31%) and Yuzhen tsentralen in Bulgaria (32%).
Among the 75 regions below the 75% level, fifteen were in Poland, nine in Greece, seven each in the Czech Republic and Romania, six in Hungary, five each in Bulgaria and Italy, four each in Portugal and the United Kingdom, three in Slovakia, two each in Spain, France (both overseas departments) and Croatia, one in Slovenia, as well as in the single region Member States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.