Croatian GDP per capita by purchasing power parity at 73 percent of EU average

According to the report from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Croatia expressed in purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2022 reaches 73 percent of the average of the 27 EU member states, while actual individual consumption (AIC) per capita amounts to 76 percent of that average, keeping us among the European countries at the bottom of the rankings, alongside Latvia.

The CBS, which participates in the European Comparison Program together with the statistical offices of other European countries for the international comparison of the physical volume of all categories of final consumption of GDP of all participating countries, published the latest analyses of purchasing power parity (PPP) and related economic indicators (GDP and AIC) per capita for the period from 2020 to 2022, focusing on the last reference year.

Luxembourg with the highest GDP and AIC according to PPS

Among EU member states, Luxembourg continues to have the highest GDP per capita according to purchasing power standards (PPS), at 156 percent above the Union average, while Bulgaria remains at the bottom of the rankings, at 62 percent of the EU average.

The results of the European Comparison Program for prices and GDP show that GDP per capita in Croatia expressed in PPP for 2022 is 73 percent of the average of the 27 EU member states, meaning it was 27 percent below the Union average. For comparison, in 2021 it was at 70 percent of the EU average, and in 2020 at 65 percent of that average, the tables show.

Latvia is closest to Croatia, with GDP per capita also at 73 percent of the average.

The highest level of GDP per capita in Luxembourg is partly due to the large share of cross-border workers in the total number of employed. Although cross-border workers contribute to GDP, they do not form part of the resident population included in the calculation of GDP per capita, the statement reminds.

It is common for GDP per capita to be used as an indicator of the level of prosperity in countries, but it is not the only such indicator. The indicator that better reflects the state of welfare in households is AIC per capita and is a more homogeneous category than GDP level. However, despite the homogeneity of this category, there are still significant differences among member states, notes the CBS.

AIC per capita according to PPS among EU member states in 2022 remained in a wide range, from 31 percent below the EU average in Bulgaria to 38 percent above that average in Luxembourg.

The results of the European Comparison Program for prices and GDP show that in Croatia AIC per capita in 2022 was at 76 percent of the EU average, or 24 percent below that average.

For comparison, in 2021 AIC per capita in Croatia was 73 percent of the Union average, and in 2020 it was at 69 percent of that average, the tables from the statistical office show.

Croatia is among the group of countries with the lowest level of AIC per capita, which includes Estonia, Greece, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary, and Bulgaria, whose range is between 22 and 31 percent below the Union average. Latvia is closest to Croatia, with AIC per capita also at 76 percent of the average, the tables show.