Western Euro regions poorer than Romania (Bucharest excluded because it's too rich)

[Nurzat]

this is somehow strange to see, as 20 years ago Romania was becoming famous for its unprecedented immigration wave towards Western Europe, being extensively featured in Western media as a land of absolute poverty and whatnot.

first let's exclude Bucharest, because Ilfov (including Bucharest) it's in the top 10 in the European Union at #8 for GDP in PPS per capita (Purchasing Power Standard):

country - region - purchasing power per capita (in euro)

Ireland - Southern - 101,200 EUR
Luxembourg - Luxembourg - 90,900 EUR
Ireland - Eastern and Midland - 87,600 EUR
Czech Republic - Prague - 73,400 EUR
Belgium - Brussels - 69,500 EUR
Germany - Hamburg - 69,100 EUR
Denmark - Capital Region - 67,800 EUR
Romania - Ilfov (including Bucharest) - 62,900 EUR
Germany - Upper Bavaria - 60,000 EUR
Netherlands - North Holland - 59,400 EUR
France - Île-de-France - 57,900 EUR


then let's average the other regions of Romania, which are doing much less well economically, due to extreme centralization of the country, excluding again the poorest one, as we excluded the richest one as well, they are both outliers:

average = 23,083 EUR

each region:

West - 26,700 EUR
Centre - 25,200 EUR
North West - 24,700 EUR
South East - 21,400 EUR
South West - Oltenia - 20,300 EUR
South - Muntenia - 20,200 EUR
North East - 16,300 EUR (excluded)


Western Euro regions below this purchasing power value:

Spain - Extremadura - 23,000 EUR
Italy - Puglia - 22,900 EUR
Spain - Andalusia - 22,700 EUR
Italy - Campania - 22,200 EUR
Greece - Western Macedonia - 21,400 EUR
Greece - Peloponnese - 21,000 EUR
Italy - Sicily - 21,000 EUR
Greece - Ionian Islands - 20,300 EUR
Italy - Calabria - 20,300 EUR
Greece - Crete - 20,000 EUR
Greece - Central Macedonia - 18,800 EUR
Greece - Thessaly - 18,500 EUR
Greece - Western Greece - 17,300 EUR
Greece - Eastern Macedonia and Thrace - 16,800 EUR
Greece - Epirus - 16,500 EUR
Greece - North Aegean - 14,500 EUR

not lower than this but nearby, just slightly above, are:

Portugal - Northern Portugal - 23,900
Portugal - Central Portugal - 23,900
Greece - South Aegean - 23,900


how did they get here and how do they feel about it - does anyone in these regions plan on going to Romania to work? maybe to Bucharest, as it is in the top? or maybe to one of these other Eastern Euro places doing well:

top:
Czechia - Prague - 73,400
Poland - Warsaw - 57,200
Hungary - Budapest - 56,100
Slovakia - Bratislava - 51,900
Croatia - Zagreb - 47,400
Lithuania - Sostinės regionas - 47,000

mid:
Slovenia - Western Slovenia - 38,600
Bulgaria - South-West - 34,500
Poland - Lower Silesia - 31,600
Estonia - Estonia - 30,100

will on the longer term the Mediterranean region become the poorest in Europe, poorer than Eastern Europe (if such trends as seen in the past decade continue)?


bonus:

Western Euro regions with Eastern Euro economy level:

France - Languedoc-Roussillon - 26800
France - Corsica - 26800
France - Picardy - 26700
Spain - Valencian Community - 26300
France - Limousin - 26200
Belgium - Hainaut - 26100
France - Lorraine - 25900
Italy - Molise - 25800
Portugal - Alentejo - 25800
Greece - Central Greece - 25500
Belgium - Luxembourg (Belgium) - 25400
Italy - Sardinia - 25000
Portugal - Autonomous Region of the Azores - 25000
Spain - Region of Murcia - 25000
Spain - Castile-La Mancha - 24300
Spain - Canary Islands - 24000

[Damião de Góis]

Here's a map for this:


https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/pr...ddn-20240220-2

Most surprising thing for me is how Prague is now the region with highest GDP per capita in Europe (if we exclude Luxembroug and Ireland which have inflated GDP). But looking at the map, it's a tiny region so maybe that comes into play.

[Nurzat]

Most surprising thing for me is how Prague is now the region with highest GDP per capita in Europe (if we exclude Luxembroug and Ireland which have inflated GDP). But looking at the map, it's a tiny region so maybe that comes into play.

yes, Prague region is only 1.3 million. but Czechia is also overall doing best out of all Eastern Euro nations, and not only on purchase power. when you think also about the architecture, the tourism, proximity to Western Europe, climate etc, it makes Czechia and Prague in particular really attractive - several former schoolmates and workmates of mine, both boys and girls, live (and work) in Prague, some of them for many years, over a decade.

then, Bucharest-Ilfov region is 2.3 million, almost double, and already comparable to many other regions in the list in terms of population. you can order them by population in the last column on here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...regions_by_GDP

there's definitely some pockets of decent standard of living in Eastern Europe that could be attractive for Western expats as well, especially for cities that look nice in terms of architecture as well and are big enough to be vibrant and urban:
- Prague in Czech Rep.
- Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw in Poland
- Budapest in Hungary
- Vilnius in Lithuania
- Ljubljana in Slovenia
- Zagreb in Croatia
- Tallinn in Estonia
- Bratislava in Slovakia
- Riga in Latvia
- and lastly Bucharest in Romania, which is less attractive as a city and Romania is less developed as a country (in infrastructure) but Bucharest has a very good job market and Romania has interesting wild areas for tourism (just beware the bears)

[Damião de Góis]

yes, Prague region is only 1.3 million. but Czechia is also overall doing best out of all Eastern Euro nations, and not only on purchase power. when you think also about the architecture, the tourism, proximity to Western Europe, climate etc, it makes Czechia and Prague in particular really attractive - several former schoolmates and workmates of mine, both boys and girls, live (and work) in Prague, some of them for many years, over a decade.

then, Bucharest-Ilfov region is 2.3 million, almost double, and already comparable to many other regions in the list in terms of population. you can order them by population in the last column on here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...regions_by_GDP

there's definitely some pockets of decent standard of living in Eastern Europe that could be attractive for Western expats as well, especially for cities that look nice in terms of architecture as well and are big enough to be vibrant and urban:
- Prague in Czech Rep.
- Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw in Poland
- Budapest in Hungary
- Vilnius in Lithuania
- Ljubljana in Slovenia
- Zagreb in Croatia
- Tallinn in Estonia
- Bratislava in Slovakia
- Riga in Latvia
- and lastly Bucharest in Romania, which is less attractive as a city and Romania is less developed as a country (in infrastructure) but Bucharest has a very good job market and Romania has interesting wild areas for tourism (just beware the bears)

If we add population in the equation then i would say the richest region in Europe is Ille de France. It's top 10 for GDP per capita and has 12M people, which is a lot more than other regions in the top 10.

I noticed before how every eastern european capital has very high GDP per capita. Warsaw, Prague and Bucharest are top 10 in Europe.
I noticed this a few years ago so it's not recent.

[Tooting Carmen]

What about the UK?

[cass]

The effect of remaining outside the Eurozone.

[Daco Celtic]

- and lastly Bucharest in Romania, which is less attractive as a city and Romania is less developed as a country (in infrastructure) but Bucharest has a very good job market and Romania has interesting wild areas for tourism (just beware the bears)

What about more midsize cities like Cluj, Sibiu, and Brasov for westerners? Even if the wages aren't as high as Bucharest the all-around lifestyle might be better. The type of westerner that would move might be employed by a western company, have their own business, or have money saved so they aren't dependent on the Romania wage. A lot of older people wouldn't care if a place Brasov is a little boring or if Bucharest has better night life.

[Incal]

Kudos to the romanians.

[Damião de Góis]

Eurostat just released this for 2023:


https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/pr...ddn-20240326-1

The thing is, if we take out Luxembourg and Ireland, the average is considerably lower and countries that think they are doing bad maybe aren't doing that bad. With those two countries (which have inflated GDP), France is below the EU average.

Also, the EU is lagging behind the US economically, which for example is responsible for boosting Ireland's GDP.

[lei.talk]

There's definitely some pockets of decent standard of living in Eastern Europe that could be attractive for Western expats as well, especially for cities that look nice in terms of architecture as well and are big enough to be vibrant and urban:

- Prague in Czech Rep.
- Warsaw, Krakow and Wroclaw in Poland
- Budapest in Hungary
- Vilnius in Lithuania
- Ljubljana in Slovenia
- Zagreb in Croatia
- Tallinn in Estonia
- Bratislava in Slovakia
- Riga in Latvia
- and lastly Bucharest in Romania