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Luxembourg remains EU's wealthiest, Bulgaria poorest: Eurostat

14 December 2013 03:12 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Luxembourg remains the richest country in the 28-nation European Union (EU) while Bulgaria and Romania continue to be the poorest, latest data from the EU's statistical office has shown, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

In 2012, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Luxembourg, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), was 263 against an EU average of 100, the Eurostat said.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria and Romania, which both joined the EU in 2007, was the poorest nations last year, with a GDP per capita of 47 and 50 respectively, according to the data.

The PPS is an artificial currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries and one PPS buys the same volume of goods and services in all countries. The unit allows meaningful volume comparisons of economic indicators across countries.

Austria had the second highest wealth level measured by GDP per capita of 130, which rose from 129 in 2011 and 127 in 2010. The Netherlands, though among the richest countries, saw a slight drop in GDP per capita from 130 in 2010 to 129 in 2011 and to 128 last year.

The Eurostat said Ireland remained the EU's third richest country with a GDP per capita of 129.

However, Ireland's wealth level, measured in Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) per capita, an alternative indicator better adapted to describe the material welfare situation of households, declined from 102 in 2010 to 98 in 2012, against an EU average of 100.

Ireland was the 12th richest EU country in the AIC per capita ranking last year, while Luxembourg and Germany were the wealthiest, with a reading of 138 and 123, respectively.