European GDP Per Capita In 1990 Compared To 2016

Map showing GDP in 1990 created by Reddit user trinitronbxb

The map above, which shows GDP per capita for European countries in 1990 (just as the Iron Curtain was falling), reveals a general increase as one travels from east to west and from south to north. It also invites the question of what may have changed in the intervening quarter century.

The table below, which is based on World Bank data, is intended to answer this question. It includes all members of the EU and all other European countries with populations greater than 100K, for a total of 41 countries.

The table lists GDP per capita in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in constant 2011 international $ in order to give an, admittedly imperfect (see note below), idea of the relative standard of living in different countries and how it has changed from the situation shown on this map.

A base year of 1995 was selected, rather than 1990, since by that year data were available for most current European countries.

COUNTRY	GDP PER CAPITA PPP 1995 $*	RANK 1995	GDP PER CAPITA PPP 2016 $*	RANK 2016	RANK CHANGE FROM 1995 TO 2016	GAIN IN PER CAPITA PPP 1995 - 2016 $*	RANK of GAINS
Luxembourg	65,358	1	94,765	1	0	29,407	2
Norway	50,052	2	64,179	2	0	14,127	11
Switzerland	46,257	3	57,430	4	-1	11,173	18
Denmark	37,238	4	45,966	7	-3	8,728	28
Netherlands	34,763	5	47,303	5	0	12,540	12
Austria	33,873	6	44,358	9	-3	10,485	22
Germany	33,653	7	44,260	10	-3	10,607	20
Italy	33,152	8	34,715	16	-8	1,563	39
Belgium	32,613	9	42,059	11	-2	9,446	25
Sweden	31,077	10	46,662	6	4	15,585	8
France	30,932	11	38,059	14	-3	7,127	30
United Kingdom	28,682	12	39,230	13	-1	10,548	21
Iceland	28,106	13	45,276	8	5	17,170	4
Finland	27,596	14	39,523	12	2	11,927	14
Cyprus	26,465	15	31,196	19	-4	4,731	35
Ireland	26,200	16	62,992	3	13	36,792	1
Spain	25,051	17	33,349	17	0	8,298	29
Portugal	21,851	18	27,105	24	-6	5,254	34
Greece	21,247	19	24,278	27	-8	3,031	36
Malta	19,798	20	35,743	15	5	15,945	7
Czech Republic	19,271	21	31,353	18	3	12,082	13
Slovenia	18,431	22	29,933	20	2	11,502	15
Hungary	15,319	23	25,654	26	-3	10,335	23
Slovakia	13,184	24	29,224	21	3	16,040	6
Russia	12,813	25	24,026	28	-3	11,213	17
Croatia	12,625	26	21,547	31	-5	8,922	27
Estonia	11,362	27	28,095	22	5	16,733	5
Poland	11,300	28	26,051	25	3	14,751	10
Romania	10,546	29	21,608	30	-1	11,062	19
Lithuania	9,357	30	27,904	23	7	18,547	3
Bulgaria	8,446	31	17,794	32	-1	9,348	26
Latvia	8,284	32	23,718	29	3	15,434	9
Montenegro	No Data	33	15,725	34	-1	-	-
Macedonia	7,641	34	13,055	36	-2	5,414	33
Serbia	7,393	35	13,723	35	0	6,330	32
Belarus	5,452	36	16,742	33	3	11,290	16
Ukraine	5,060	37	7,668	40	-3	2,608	37
Albania	4,279	38	11,359	37	1	7,080	31
Kosovo	No Data	39	9,332	39	0	-	-
Moldova	2,605	40	4,944	41	-1	2,339	38
Bosnia & Herz.	1,826	41	11,327	38	3	9,501	24

* in constant 2011 international $

NOTES:

Although the national status of Kosovo is contested, it has been included since it appears separately in the World Bank data.

The 1995 rankings for Montenegro and Kosovo are estimates, based on data for subsequent years.

Caveats:

In practice PPP is very difficult to measure. Furthermore, while GDP per capita as measured in terms of PPP should give a better idea of overall standard for living than nominal GDP per capita, it is an average and does not address the distribution of purchasing power among the population.

Moreover, GDP itself is an imprecise measure of national prosperity. For example, it does not include the value of many non-market transactions. For a discussion of the limitations of GDP see: The Economists’ article The trouble with GDP

OBSERVATIONS:

The table suggests that between 1995 and 2016 the rankings of most countries did not change significantly (30 countries changed rankings up or down by three or less).

However, there are some notable exceptions. The position of Ireland has improved dramatically (+13). Other countries that have moved up more than three places are Lithuania (+7), Iceland (+5), Estonia (+5), Malta (+5) and Sweden (+4).

On the negative side those experiencing the biggest reduction in ranking are Greece and Italy (both at -8), while others that have slipped by more than three places are Portugal (-6), Croatia (-5), and Cyprus (-4).

All countries experienced a gain in average living standards during the period in question. The two right-hand columns indicate the magnitude of those gains and the associated ranking.

The greatest gains were achieved by Ireland, Luxembourg, Lithuania and Iceland, while among the countries for which comparative data are available Italy, Moldova, Ukraine and Greece gained the least.

There is some evidence that the tendency for GDP to increase as one travels from south to north, as indicated in the 1990 map, may actually have become stronger in the intervening years.

Thus, all of the ten countries that gained the most are, with the exception of Malta, in Northern Europe, while all of the ten countries that gained the least are, with the exception of France, in Southern Europe.

However, the increase as one travels from east to west is arguably less pronounced than in 1990. While seven countries in Eastern Europe are, indeed, among the bottom ten in terms of gains, six are also in the top ten, including the three Baltic States, as well as Slovakia, Poland and Sweden, all of which are members of the EU.

If you’re interested in the topic you may also be interested in the following books:

• The European Economy since 1945: Coordinated Capitalism and Beyond
• A History of the European Economy, 1000-2000
• The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy: Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of the USSR

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