Croatian Standard 40 Percent Below EU Average

There are significant differences in the living standards of citizens among individual countries of the European Union, with the standard of Luxembourgers last year being six times higher than that of Bulgarian residents, according to a report from the European statistical office released on Thursday.

Thus, Luxembourg had a GDP per capita measured by purchasing power parity more than two and a half times higher than the EU average last year. The Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany form a group of countries whose GDP per capita measured by purchasing power parity was 20 to 30 percent above the EU average last year.

In the case of Belgium and Finland, it was 10 to 20 percent above the European average in 2011, while in the United Kingdom and France it was 10 percent above the Union average. The average EU standard in 2011, measured by GDP per capita, can be considered that of Italy and Spain.

Cyprus is about five percent below the European average, while the GDP per capita measured by purchasing power parity in Malta, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic last year was 15 to 20 percent lower than the EU average.

Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, and Poland lag behind the average by about a third, while Croatia’s GDP per capita measured by purchasing power parity was in 2011 slightly less than 40 percent below the European average.

Latvia’s GDP per capita in 2011 was slightly more than 40 percent below the EU average, and the lowest GDP per capita measured by purchasing power parity, 50 to 55 percent of the European average, was recorded last year by Romania and Bulgaria.

According to data collected by Eurostat, the richest Luxembourg had almost six times higher GDP per capita than the poorest Bulgaria last year.

To describe the actual living standard of households in the EU even more accurately, Eurostat used, in addition to GDP per capita, which they say actually reflects the level of economic activity, an alternative indicator of real individual consumption per capita.

By this indicator, Luxembourg again occupied the position of an EU member state whose citizens had the highest standard in the EU last year, this time 40 percent above the EU average. The lowest standard by this indicator was held by Bulgarian citizens, 55 percent below the European average. Croatia was slightly more than 40 percent below the EU average by this indicator last year.