179/2007 - 17 December 2007

GDP per inhabitant in purchasing power standards

GDP per inhabitant in the Member States ranged from 37% to 280% of the EU27 average in 2006
GDP per inhabitant1 in Luxembourg2, expressed in terms of purchasing power standards3 (PPS), was more than two-and-a-half times the EU27 average in 2006, while Ireland was nearly 50% above the average. The Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Belgium were between around 20% and 30% above the average. The United Kingdom, Finland, Germany and France recorded figures between 10% and 20% above the EU27 average, while Spain, Italy and Greece were around the average. Cyprus and Slovenia were about 10% below the EU27 average, while the Czech Republic, Malta and Portugal were between 20% and 25% below. Estonia, Hungary and Slovakia were about 35% below the average, while Lithuania, Latvia and Poland were between 40% and 50% below the average. Romania and Bulgaria were around 60% below the EU27 average. These data for 2006, 20054 and 2004, published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, are based on revised purchasing power parities5, and the latest GDP and population figures. They cover the 27 EU Member States, the three candidate countries, three EFTA countries and four Western Balkan countries.

1. GDP provides a measure of the total economic activity in a country. Most EU Member States have adapted their national accounts to comply with methodological improvements agreed upon internationally concerning the allocation of "financial intermediation services indirectly measured" (FISIM) to user sectors. The United Kingdom has not included the allocation of FISIM in its official GDP yet, and neither have Croatia, Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the four Western-Balkan countries. 2. The GDP per inhabitant in Luxembourg is very high partly due to the large share of cross-border workers in total employment. While contributing to GDP, they are not taken into consideration as part of the resident population which is used to calculate GDP per inhabitant. 3. The Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) is an artificial reference currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries. Thus one PPS buys the same volume of goods and services in all countries. This unit allows meaningful volume comparisons of economic indicators across countries. Aggregates expressed in PPS are derived by dividing aggregates in current prices and national currency by the respective Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The level of uncertainty associated with the basic price and national accounts data, and the methods used for compiling PPPs imply that differences between countries that have indexes within a close range should not be over-interpreted. 4. The PPP data for 2005 have also been integrated into the International Comparison Program (ICP), which compares price levels and economic aggregates in real terms for some 150 countries. The worldwide results will be published at 15:00 CET on 17 December 2007 at www.worldbank.org/data/icp. The ICP uses GDP data from November 2007, and may differ from the latest data published by Eurostat. 5. The regular publication schedule of purchasing power parities includes four estimates for a particular year. The first estimate for 2006, based on projections, was published in News Release 90/2007 of 28 June 2007. This News Release corresponds to the second estimate.

GDP per inhabitant in PPS, EU27 = 100

EU27 Euro area Euro area+Malta+Cyprus Belgium Bulgaria Czech Republic Denmark Germany Estonia Ireland Greece Spain France Italy Cyprus Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Hungary Malta Netherlands Austria Poland Portugal Romania Slovenia Slovakia Finland Sweden United Kingdom Croatia Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia Turkey Iceland Norway Switzerland Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina Montenegro Serbia
: data not available

2004 100 111 111 121 34 75 126 117 57 142 94 101 111 107 91 46 51 254 63 77 130 129 51 75 34 85 57 117 125 122 49 27 29 132 165 135 : : : :

2005 100 111 111 121 35 77 127 115 63 144 97 103 112 105 93 50 53 265 64 77 131 129 51 76 35 87 61 115 124 120 50 28 29 135 180 134 20 25 30 33

2006 100 110 110 120 37 79 126 114 69 146 98 105 111 103 92 54 56 280 65 77 131 128 52 75 39 88 64 117 125 118 52 28 31 130 186 135 21 26 33 33

Issued by: Eurostat Press Office Tim ALLEN Tel: +352-4301-33 444 eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.eu Eurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

For further information on the data: Paul KONIJN Tel: +352-4301-33 438 paulus.konijn@ec.europa.eu Ingo KUHNERT Tel: +352-4301-35 234 ingo.kuhnert@ec.europa.eu