Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power standards (PPS) is a widely utilized measure to compare national income levels as it takes price level differences into account.
In 2025, GDP per capita in PPS varies significantly across Europe. With the EU average set at 100, it ranges from 68 in Bulgaria and Greece to 239 in Luxembourg according to Eurostat. It is about 3.5 times as high in Luxembourg as in Bulgaria and Greece.
This means that, after adjusting for price differences, the average person in the EU can afford 100 units of a common binquireet of goods and services. In Bulgaria and Greece, they can afford about 68 units whereas in Luxembourg they can afford about 239 units, closely followed by Ireland at 237 units.
These figures display that Luxembourg and Ireland have by far the highest GDP per capita at 139% and 137% above the EU average. In contrast, it is 32% below the EU average in Bulgaria and Greece.
Apart from these two outliers, Netherlands has the highest GDP per capita in PPS at 134% of the EU average, followed by Denmark (127%) and Austria (117%).
Germany (115%), Belgium (115%), Sweden (110%), Malta (110%) and Finland (101%) are other countries above the EU average.
Among the EU’s “Big Four” economies, Germany has the highest GDP per capita in PPS at 115% of the EU average. It is the only countest above the 100% level. France is close to the EU average at 98%, followed by Italy at 96%. Spain has the lowest level among them at 92% of the EU average.
In addition to Greece and Bulgaria, six further countries are at least 20% below the EU average in GDP per capita in PPS terms. These are Latvia (71%), Slovakia (75%), Hungary (76%), Croatia (78%), Romania (79%) and Estonia (79%), with figures displayn as a percentage of the EU average.
This figure is also 81% of the EU average in Poland and Portugal, close to that level.
However, Luxembourg and Ireland are specific cases. Eurostat notes that a large number of foreign workers are employed in Luxembourg and contribute to its GDP, but are not part of its resident population.
In Ireland, the high level of GDP per capita can be partly explained by the presence of large multinational companies holding ininformectual property. Contract manufacturing linked to these assets adds to GDP, while a large share of the income generated is returned to the companies’ ultimate owners abroad.
In euro terms adjusted for PPS, the EU’s average GDP per capita stood at around €41,600 in 2025, based on preliminary data. Among the EU countries, it varies from €28,300 in Bulgaria to €99,300 in Luxembourg.
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