190/2013 - 12 December 2013

GDP per capita in purchasing power standards in 2012

Most Member States had GDP per capita between 70% and 130% of the EU28 average
In 2012, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Luxembourg , expressed in purchasing power 2 standards (PPS), was more than two and a half times the EU28 average. But this is an exception: Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Belgium were between 20% and 30% above the average, while Finland was 15% above average. France, the United Kingdom and Italy were between the average and 10% above. Spain and Cyprus were between the EU28 average and 10% below, while Malta, Slovenia and the Czech Republic were between 10% and 20% below. Slovakia, Portugal, Greece, Lithuania and Estonia were between 20% and 30% below the average, while Poland, Hungary, Latvia and Croatia were between 30% and 40% below. Romania and Bulgaria were around 50% below the average.
1

These data for 2012, 2011 and 2010, published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, are 4 based on revised purchasing power parities, and the latest GDP and population figures. They cover the 28 EU Member States, three EFTA Member States, four candidate countries and two potential candidate countries.

Actual Individual Consumption per capita in the Member States ranged from 49% to 138% of the EU28 average in 2012
While GDP per capita is mainly an indicator reflecting the level of economic activity, Actual Individual Consumption 5 (AIC) per capita is an alternative indicator better adapted to describe the material welfare situation of households. Generally, levels of AIC per capita are more homogeneous than those of GDP but still there are substantial differences across the Member States. In 2012, AIC per capita expressed in PPS ranged between nearly 40% above the EU28 average in Luxembourg and around 50% below in Bulgaria and Romania.

GDP and AIC per capita in PPS, EU28 = 100

GDP per capita 2010 EU28 Euro area (EA17) Luxembourg Austria Ireland Netherlands Sweden Denmark Germany Belgium Finland France United Kingdom Italy Spain Cyprus Malta Slovenia Czech Republic Slovakia Portugal Greece Lithuania Estonia Poland Hungary Latvia Croatia Romania Bulgaria Norway Switzerland Iceland Turkey Montenegro Serbia Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia Albania Bosnia & Herzegovina
6

AIC per capita 2012 100 108 2010 100 108 2011 100 108 2012 100 107

2011 100 109

100 109

263 127 129 130 124 128 120 121 114 109 108 103 99 97 87 84 81 74 80 88 62 64 63 66 55 59 48 44 181 152 115 50 42 35 36

266 129 129 129 125 126 123 120 116 109 105 102 96 94 86 84 81 75 77 80 68 69 65 67 60 61 48 47 186 155 115 53 42 36 36

263 130 129 128 126 126 123 120 115 109 106 101 96 92 86 84 81 76 76 75 72 71 67 67 64 62 50 47 195 158 115 54 41 36 35

140 118 102 113 115 117 119 112 112 114 115 105 94 100 85 80 72 73 84 98 67 57 68 62 55 57 48 44 135 128 110 55 52 44 41

138 119 99 112 115 113 123 113 114 114 113 103 93 99 85 81 72 73 80 92 71 59 70 63 59 59 48 47 134 127 111 59 53 44 41

138 120 98 111 117 114 123 113 116 114 114 100 92 97 85 79 72 73 77 85 75 62 73 63 63 60 50 49 137 130 114 59 52 44 40

26 29

30 29

30 29

28 36

35 36

35 37

1. The high GDP per capita in Luxembourg is partly due to the country's large share of cross-border workers in total employment. While contributing to GDP, these workers are not taken into consideration as part of the resident population which is used to calculate GDP per capita. For comparison, Gross National Income per capita in Luxembourg was 179% of the EU28 average in 2012. 2. The Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) is an artificial 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 indices within a close range should not be over-interpreted. 3. See Statistics Explained article on the Eurostat website: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/GDP_per_capita,_consumption_per_capita_and_price_level _indices 4. The regular publication schedule of PPPs includes four estimates for a particular year. The first estimate for 2012, based partly on projections, was published in News Release 98/2013 of 19 June 2013. The present News Release corresponds to the second estimate. The 2012 figures will be revised again in December 2014 and finalised in 2015. 5. Indicators reflecting directly the situation of households are more adapted than GDP to reflect welfare. The level of consumption per head is one of these. In national accounts, Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) consists of goods and services actually consumed by individuals, irrespective of whether these goods and services are purchased and paid for by households, by government, or by non-profit organisations. In international volume comparisons of consumption, AIC is often seen as the preferable measure, since it is not influenced by the fact that the organisation of certain important services consumed by households, like health and education services, differs a lot across countries. AIC is listed among the recommendations of the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi report. 6. The euro area (EA17) consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

Issued by: Eurostat Press Office Tim ALLEN Tel: +352-4301-33 444 eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.eu

For further information on the data: Paul KONIJN Tel: +352-4301-33 438 paulus.konijn@ec.europa.eu

Eurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat