Prague one of the richest districts among EU regions

2010-03-02

Prague is one of the top five richest administrative districts out of over 250 regions in the EU-27, according to data for regional gross domestic product per inhabitant released by Eurostat in February 2010. In the Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) rating, which takes 100% as the EU average, Prague was assessed as having a score of 172%. The other four regions in the top five were Inner London (334% of the average), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (275%), Brussels (221%) and Hamburg (192%).
Among the 41 regions that exceeded the level of 125%, only two were from Central Europe – Prague (Czech Republic) and Bratislava (Slovakia). In contrast, among the poorest 66 regions (categorised by having a level of 75% or below), 15 were in Poland and seven in Romania.
PPS is an artificial currency, which considers differences in national price levels. This unit enables a meaningful volume comparison of economic indicators between regions, regardless of country.