Brussels - Luxemburgers are two-and-a-half times richer than
the European Union average, while Bulgarians are by far the bloc's
poorest citizens, according to EU figures released Thursday.
The disparity in EU wealth is reflected in latest figures from
the European statistical institute Eurostat, which compared gross
domestic product (GDP) per inhabitant, adjusted for local
purchasing power, in the EU's 27 member states.
Preliminary figures for 2008 show that GDP per person ranges from
253 per cent of the EU average in Luxembourg, to 40 per cent in
Bulgaria.
Italians own the average EU wealth, which is expressed as GDP per
inhabitant in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) = 100. PPS is an
artificial currency unit that eliminates price level differences
between countries.
The table below shows that Europe's richest citizens are in
Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands and Austria, while its poorest
are in Central and Eastern Europe.
The high level of GDP per inhabitant in Luxembourg is partly due
to the large share of foreigners who work in the Grand Duchy,
Eurostat said. While contributing to the country's GDP, these workers
are not taken into consideration as part of the resident population,
which is used to calculate GDP per inhabitant.
GDP per inhabitant in PPS, 2008, EU27 = 100
Luxembourg 253
Ireland 140
Netherlands 135
Austria 123
Sweden 121
Denmark 119
Britain 117
Finland 116
Germany 116
Belgium 115
France 107
Spain 104
Italy 100
EU27 100
Greece 95
Cyprus 95
Slovenia 90
Czech Republic 80
Malta 76
Portugal 75
Slovakia 72
Estonia 67
Hungary 63
Lithuania 61
Poland 57
Latvia 56
Romania 46
Bulgaria 40
Source: Eurostat
USA
Your Talkback on this Story