The chart above shows the per capita annualized nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in each EU region as of the first quarter of 2021 in euros, the change from the previous quarter, and the per capita GDP one year prior. Only the Northern and Eastern EU grew over the past quarter and over the past year.
Findings
- The difference between the region with the largest per capita GDP, the Northern EU, and the region with the smallest, the Eastern EU, is €38,153.90 (up from €37,536.62 last quarter and up from €36,447.05 last year). The Northern and Eastern EU had the largest and smallest per capita GDP respectively both last quarter and last year.
- The Northern EU has 3.63 times the per capita GDP that the Eastern EU does. The ratio of largest per capita GDP to smallest per capita GDP was down from 3.64 last quarter and up from 3.52 last year.
- Of the four regions, 3 saw a rise in per capita GDP in current euros from the previous quarter while 1 saw a contraction.
- Of the four regions, 2 saw a rise in per capita GDP in current euros from last year while 2 saw a contraction.
Caveats
- GDP data is from the first quarter of 2020, the fourth quarter of 2020, and the first quarter of 2021.
- Census data is from 2011.
- The data is seasonally and calendar adjusted in current euros except for Slovakia which is only seasonally adjusted in current euros.
- The data is annualized by multiplying the quarterly figure by four.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
- The Eastern EU consists of Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
- The Northern EU consists of Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
- The Southern EU consists of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta.
- The Western EU consists of Germany, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, and Luxembourg.
Details
In absolute terms, the Southern EU had the worst performance over the previous quarter with a drop of €42.42. The Northern EU had the best performance with a gain of €914.61. Year over year, the Southern EU had the worst performance with a drop of €307.71 while the Northern EU had the best performance with a gain of €1,752.21.
In relative terms, the Southern EU had the worst performance over the previous quarter with a 0.17% drop in per capita GDP while the Eastern EU had the best performance with a 2.09% gain in per capita GDP. Year over year, the Southern EU had the worst performance with a 1.20% drop in per capita GDP while the Northern EU had the best performance with a 3.44% gain in per capita GDP.
The Northern EU has the smallest range in per capita GDP with a low of $44,703.19 in Finland to a high of $56,883.43 in Denmark. The Western EU has the greatest range with a low of $36,888.63 in France to a high of $134,544.39 in Luxembourg.
The Northern EU has a per capita GDP that is higher than all Southern and Eastern EU states and all but two Northern EU and two Western EU states and is bested by four states in total. The Eastern EU has a per capita GDP that is lower than all states in all other regions and only bests five states from the Eastern EU.
Sources
Eurostat. 2017. "Population on 1 January by Age Groups and Sex - Functional Urban Areas." Accessed December 11, 2017. http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=urb_lpop1&lang=en.
Federal Reserve. 2021. "Foreign Exchange Rates." Accessed July 21, 2021. https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g5/.
Office for National Statistics. 2021. "Gross Domestic Product at market prices: Current price: Seasonally adjusted £m - Office for National Statistics." Accessed July 21, 2021. https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/timeseries/ybha/ukea.