Latvia still has some economic catching-up to do with rest of EU / Article

The information comes from data on purchasing power parities (PPP) published by Eurostat December 17.

AIC per capita is expressed in purchasing power standards and is used as a measure of material welfare of households.

Last year, 9 countries recorded an AIC per capita above the EU average. Luxembourg recorded the highest level at 36% above the EU average. Luxembourg was followed by the Netherlands and Germany (both 19% above).

The lowest levels of AIC per capita were registered in Hungary and Bulgaria (both 30% below the EU average) and Latvia (26% below). Estonia ranked only slightly ahead on 25% below the EU average, but Lithuania fared rather better being just 12% behind the EU average.

In another important metric, Latvia also has plenty of room for improvement.

Luxembourg registered the highest level of GDP per capita expressed in purchasing power standards in the EU, at 137% above the EU average, ahead of Ireland (113%) and the Netherlands (33%).

By contrast, Bulgaria (36% below the EU average), Greece (31%) and Latvia (30%) registered the lowest levels.

But at least Latvia is gradually catching up. Countries’ volume indices of GDP per capita for the years 2013-2023 show that Latvia’s GDP per capita has risen from 60% of the EU average level in 2013 to 70% in 2023 (though it did touch 71% back in 2021 before alling back to 69% in 2022). 

Luxembourg had the highest GDP per capita among all the 36 countries included in this comparison, in 2023 being well above the EU average (237%). This is partly explained by the fact that a large number of foreign residents are employed in the country and thus contribute to its GDP, while they are not part of Luxembourg’s resident population.

Meanwhile the high level of GDP per capita in Ireland (213%) can be partly explained by the presence of large multinational companies holding intellectual property, Eurostat said.

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