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Regional GDP per capita: from 30% to 263% of the EU average

Mar 12, 2020 | News

(12 March 2020) – In 2018, regional GDP per capita, expressed in terms of purchasing power standards (PPS), ranged from 30% of the European Union (EU) average in Mayotte, an overseas region of France, to 263% in Luxembourg.

Eurostat
© Eurostat

The leading regions in the ranking of regional GDP per capita in 2018, after Luxembourg (263% of the EU average), were Southern (225%) and Eastern & Midland (210%) in Ireland, Brussels Region (203%) in Belgium, Hamburg in Germany (197%) and Prague in Czechia (192%).

In contrast, after the overseas region of France Mayotte (30% of the EU average), the lowest regions in the ranking were three Bulgarian regions: North-West (34%), North-Central (35%) and South-Central (36%). In the case of Mayotte the low GDP per capita is mainly explained by demographic factors, since 42% of the population is less than 15 years old.

In 2018, regional GDP per person employed, expressed in terms of purchasing power standards, ranged from 35% of the European Union (EU) average in South-Central in Bulgaria, to 235% of the average in Southern in Ireland. For many regions, GDP per capita is higher than GDP per person employed. This can be a result of multiple factors, especially net commuter inflow.

The highest regional disparities between the regions with the highest and the lowest GDP per capita are observed in Romania (ratio of 3.6), Poland and Slovakia (both 3.3), Hungary (3.2), Ireland (3.1) and Czechia (3.0), while the lowest ratios are recorded in Finland and Portugal (both 1.5), Sweden and Austria (both 1.7) as well as Denmark, Spain and the Netherlands (all 1.9).

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