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2014-10 Richest countries in Europe

    EuCham – European Chamber lists the richest countries in Europe measured on GDP per capita based on PPP (purchasing power parity). PPP GDP is gross domestic product converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates, where an international dollar has the same purchasing power over GDP as the USD has in the United States.

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    EuCham Research
    October 2014

    Richest countries in Europe

    1

    Luxembourg

    90,790

    2

    Norway

    65,461

    3

    Switzerland

    53,672

    4

    Austria

    44,149

    5

    Sweden

    43,533

       

    45

    Moldova

    4,669

    Ranking based on GDP per capita in USD,
    using PPP exchange rates, 2013.
    45  European countries were considered

     

    • Bosnia & Herzegovina is ranked as the top country in Europe with the highest unemployment rate of 44%
    • Following Bosnia & Herzegovina in the rankings are Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece with the highest unemployment rates in Europe (excluding city states)

    • Belarus has the lowest unemployment rate of 0.5% in Europe (data to be considered carefully)

    Source: eucham.eu/research 

    Detailed Information

    EuCham – European Chamber lists the richest countries in Europe measured on GDP per capita based on PPP (purchasing power parity). PPP GDP is gross domestic product converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates, where an international dollar has the same purchasing power over GDP as the USD has in the United States.

    GDP at purchaser’s prices is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy, plus product taxes, minus subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources.

    According to the EuCham ranking the richest European country is Luxembourg with USD 90,790 per capita. The richest countries following are Norway, Switzerland, Austria and Sweden. At the bottom of the list, the poorest country in terms of GDP per capita is Moldova with only USD 4,669 per capita.

    However, EuCham reminds that excessively focusing on economic indicators such as GDP or stock market indices takes the attention away from entire measurement of countries’ and their people’s progress – their overall well being.

    Besides, even EuCham itself argues that GDP is an imperfect measure of social progress because it does not take into account harm to the environment.

    Table 1: Richest countries in Europe, PPP GDP per capita in USD, 2013 data

    Rank

    Country

    PPP GDP
    per capita

    1

    Luxembourg

    90,790

    2

    Norway

    65,461

    3

    Switzerland

    53,672

    4

    Austria

    44,149

    5

    Sweden

    43,533

    6

    Netherlands

    43,404

    7

    Germany

    43,332

    8

    Ireland

    43,304

    9

    Denmark

    42,764

    10

    Belgium

    40,338

    11

    Iceland

    39,996

    12

    Finland

    38,251

    13

    France

    36,907

    14

    United Kingdom

    36,197

    15

    Italy

    34,303

    16

    Spain

    32,103

    17

    Malta

    30,213

    18

    Cyprus

    29,450

    19

    Slovenia

    28,298

    20

    Czech Republic

    27,344

    21

    Slovakia

    26,114

    22

    Portugal

    25,900

    23

    Greece

    25,651

    24

    Lithuania

    25,417

    25

    Estonia

    25,049

    26

    Russia

    24,120

    27

    Poland

    23,275

    28

    Latvia

    23,028

    29

    Hungary

    22,878

    30

    Croatia

    20,904

    31

    Turkey

    18,975

    32

    Romania

    18,635

    33

    Belarus

    17,615

    34

    Azerbaijan

    17,139

    35

    Bulgaria

    15,941

    36

    Montenegro

    14,318

    37

    Macedonia

    11,802

    38

    Serbia

    12,374

    39

    Albania

    10,489

    40

    Bosnia and Herzegovina

    9,632

    41

    Ukraine

    8,788

    42

    Kosovo

    8,740

    43

    Armenia

    7,774

    44

    Georgia

    7,165

    45

    Moldova

    4,669

    Sources: World Bank (2013)
    EuCham Research Department – Compiled by Luca Nazzicone and Dimal Nathwani 2014-10-27