Purchasing power in Bulgaria lowest in the EU – Eurostat
Purchasing power in Bulgaria, measured according to Actual Individual Consumption per capita, was the lowest in the European Union from 2009 to 2011, according to figures released on December 13 2012 by EU statistics office Eurostat.
In 2011, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Luxembourg, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), was more than two and a half times the EU27 average, Eurostat said. The Netherlands, Ireland, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Germany were between about 20 per cent and 30 per cent above the EU27 average. Belgium and Finland were between 10 per cent and 20 per cent above average. The United Kingdom and France registered GDP per capita nearly 10 per cent above the EU27 average, while Italy and Spain were around the average.
Cyprus was five per cent below the EU27 average, according to Eurostat, while Malta, Slovenia and the Czech Republic were between 15 per cent and 20 per cent lower than the average. Greece, Portugal and Slovakia were between 20 per cent and 30 per cent below the average, while Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary and Poland were around one third below. Latvia was just more than 40 per cent lower, while Romania and Bulgaria were between 50 per cent and 55 per cent below the average.
These data for 2011, 2010 and 2009, published by Eurostat, are based on revised purchasing power parities, and the latest GDP and population figures. They cover the 27 EU member states, three EFTA member states, the acceding state, four candidate countries and two potential candidate countries.
Actual Individual Consumption per capita in the Member States ranged from 45 per cent to 140 per cent of the EU27 average in 2011, Eurostat said.
“While GDP per capita is mainly an indicator reflecting the level of economic activity, Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) per capita is an alternative indicator better adapted to describe the material welfare situation of households,” Eurostat said.
Generally, levels of AIC per capita are more homogeneous than those of GDP but still there are substantial differences across the EU member states, the statistics office said.
In 2011, AIC per capita expressed in PPS ranged between 40 per cent above the EU27 average in Luxembourg and 55 per cent below average in Bulgaria.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
