The EU average for per capita GDP stands at almost €42,000, but 17 countries, including Italy, are below this figure

Brussels – A multi-speed Europe: in 2025, the European Union’s average gross domestic product (GDP) per capita—expressed in purchasing power parity to account for differences in price levels—stood at around €41,600, and only ten out of twenty-seven Member States exceeded this figure. This group of countries represents 34 per cent of the total EU population, effectively one in three citizens. More specifically, among the member states, the range of per capita GDP varied from 68 per cent of the EU average in Greece and Bulgaria to 239 per cent in Luxembourg. These are the figures from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, and they speak for themselves: there are still “substantial differences” between the levels of wealth in EU countries. 

At the top of the European wealth pyramid stands Luxembourg, which in 2025 recorded a per capita GDP—measured in purchasing power parity (PPP)—equal to 239 per cent of the European Union average. Looking instead at nominal GDP per capita, the figure stands at 139 per cent of the EU average. This record reflects a particular structure of the national labour market: a very high proportion of foreign workers and cross-border commuters contributes substantially to the country’s wealth creation despite not being part of the resident population. Consequently, whilst their work increases the overall value of Luxembourg’s GDP, their expenditure on daily consumption is recorded in their countries of origin. 

Just behind Luxembourg, Ireland stands out with a PPP per capita GDP of 237 per cent of the European average. In nominal terms, however, the figure stands at 137 per cent. Ireland’s high level of GDP per capita is partly attributable to the strong presence of large multinational companies that hold intellectual property rights in the country, which help to boost GDP; however, a significant proportion of the income generated by this production is then transferred to the ultimate owners of the companies, who are based abroad. 

Next on the list of 10 countries with a value above the European average are the Netherlands and Denmark (both with a GDP per capita (PPP) exceeding 20 per cent of the average), Austria, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Malta, and Finland. 

Most of the other Member States, however, fall within a relatively narrow range: France, Cyprus, Italy (96 per cent PPP), the Czech Republic, Spain, and Slovenia are within 10 per cent below the EU average, whilst Lithuania, Portugal, and Poland lag behind by around 10–20 per cent. The lowest levels of GDP per capita (PPP) were recorded in Bulgaria and Greece, at 32 per cent below the EU average, and in Latvia, at 29 per cent below the EU average.