Which Parts Of Europe Are Richer & Poorer Than East Germany In 3 Maps

The map above looks at which parts of Europe are richer or poorer than East Germany in 2023. The data comes from Eurostat and is based on Purchasing power standard (PPS, EU27 from 2020), per inhabitant.

From Eurostat:

PPS is the technical term used by Eurostat for the common currency in which national accounts aggregates are expressed when adjusted for price level differences using PPPs. Thus, PPPs can be interpreted as the exchange rate of the PPS against the euro.

In terms of regions they are based on NUTS 2 divisions for each country.

Based on that here is the current data for East Germany:

Region	PPS Per Person
Berlin	€ 46,800
Leipzig	€ 36,700
Dresden	€ 35,600
Brandenburg	€ 34,200
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	€ 33,200
Sachsen-Anhalt	€ 32,600
Thüringen	€ 32,500
Chemnitz	€ 31,800
Average With Berlin	€ 36,664
Average Without Berlin	€ 33,630

Now as you can see Berlin is far richer than the rest of the East German regions.

This is due to a couple of reasons.

First of all Berlin has been the capital of a Unified Germany since 1990 (although this was only fully implemented in July 1999). The move of the capital from Bonn to Berlin included a significant amount of investment.

Moreover, prior to reunification West Berlin was a de facto capitalist city-state aligned with West Germany (although East Germany and the Soviet Bloc disputed this).

In contrast, East Berlin was the de facto capital of East Germany, although this was disputed by West Germany and the Western Allied powers. This meant that East Berlin was one of the richer parts of East Germany.

The Berlin region in the NUTS 2 division includes both the former Eastern and Western parts of the city, so it could be viewed as slightly unfair to include it in any economic rankings since only half the city was under communist rule.

The map below looks at regions that are poorer than East Germany excluding Berlin:

And finally, the map below looks which parts of Europe are richer or poorer than East Germany’s poorest region of Chemnitz.

Here’s the data for all regions.

Code	Region Name	PPS
IE06	Eastern and Midland	€ 93,300
LU00	Luxembourg	€ 90,300
IE05	Southern	€ 85,700
CZ01	Praha	€ 73,500
BE10	Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest	€ 72,700
RO32	Bucureşti-Ilfov	€ 72,600
DE60	Hamburg	€ 72,000
NL32	Noord-Holland	€ 66,500
DE21	Oberbayern	€ 64,900
HU11	Budapest	€ 64,100
DK01	Hovedstaden	€ 64,000
FR10	Ile de France	€ 63,400
ITH1	Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen	€ 62,100
NL35	Utrecht	€ 60,600
PL91	Warszawski stołeczny	€ 59,300
SE11	Stockholm	€ 58,300
BE31	Prov. Brabant wallon	€ 56,600
SK01	Bratislavský kraj	€ 56,500
AT32	Salzburg	€ 56,200
DE71	Darmstadt	€ 55,700
DE11	Stuttgart	€ 55,500
BE21	Prov. Antwerpen	€ 52,700
AT13	Wien	€ 52,500
NL41	Noord-Brabant	€ 52,300
DE50	Bremen	€ 51,800
BE24	Prov. Vlaams-Brabant	€ 51,700
ITC4	Lombardia	€ 51,000
LT01	Sostinės regionas	€ 50,300
FI1B	Helsinki-Uusimaa	€ 50,000
DE25	Mittelfranken	€ 48,500
PT1A	Grande Lisboa	€ 48,500
NL36	Zuid-Holland	€ 48,300
ITC2	Valle d’Aosta/Vallée d’Aoste	€ 48,200
ITH2	Provincia Autonoma di Trento	€ 48,200
AT34	Vorarlberg	€ 48,200
DE12	Karlsruhe	€ 47,900
AT33	Tirol	€ 47,900
DE91	Braunschweig	€ 47,700
HR05	Grad Zagreb	€ 47,700
AT31	Oberösterreich	€ 47,300
NL11	Groningen	€ 47,200
ES30	Comunidad de Madrid	€ 47,000
DE23	Oberpfalz	€ 46,900
DE14	Tübingen	€ 46,800
DE30	Berlin	€ 46,800
DEA2	Köln	€ 45,600
DE22	Niederbayern	€ 45,300
ITH5	Emilia-Romagna	€ 45,100
TR10	İstanbul	€ 45,100
FI20	Åland	€ 44,700
DEA1	Düsseldorf	€ 44,600
ES21	País Vasco	€ 44,100
BE25	Prov. West-Vlaanderen	€ 44,000
DE26	Unterfranken	€ 43,600
NL21	Overijssel	€ 43,500
ITI4	Lazio	€ 43,400
NL22	Gelderland	€ 43,300
SE33	Övre Norrland	€ 43,200
SI04	Zahodna Slovenija	€ 42,800
AT22	Steiermark	€ 42,600
DK03	Syddanmark	€ 42,400
ITH3	Veneto	€ 42,300
SE23	Västsverige	€ 42,200
BE23	Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen	€ 42,000
NL42	Limburg (NL)	€ 42,000
DE27	Schwaben	€ 41,900
DE24	Oberfranken	€ 41,400
DE92	Hannover	€ 41,400
ES22	Comunidad Foral de Navarra	€ 41,300
NL34	Zeeland	€ 41,300
AT21	Kärnten	€ 41,300
DE13	Freiburg	€ 41,100
DEA4	Detmold	€ 41,100
DEB3	Rheinhessen-Pfalz	€ 41,000
DE73	Kassel	€ 40,800
DE94	Weser-Ems	€ 40,800
MT00	Malta	€ 40,800
DK04	Midtjylland	€ 40,700
NL23	Flevoland	€ 39,900
ITC3	Liguria	€ 39,500
ES51	Cataluña	€ 39,400
ITH4	Friuli-Venezia Giulia	€ 39,200
ITI1	Toscana	€ 39,100
BG41	Yugozapaden	€ 39,000
SE32	Mellersta Norrland	€ 38,800
NL12	Friesland (NL)	€ 38,700
TR51	Ankara	€ 38,700
ES24	Aragón	€ 38,600
IE04	Northern and Western	€ 38,300
ES53	Illes Balears	€ 38,300
DEA5	Arnsberg	€ 38,100
FRK2	Rhône-Alpes	€ 38,100
ITC1	Piemonte	€ 38,100
SE12	Östra Mellansverige	€ 37,900
SE22	Sydsverige	€ 37,900
DEC0	Saarland	€ 37,800
DK05	Nordjylland	€ 37,500
DE72	Gießen	€ 37,500
AT12	Niederösterreich	€ 37,500
SE21	Småland med öarna	€ 37,300
CY00	Kýpros	€ 37,100
FI19	Länsi-Suomi	€ 37,000
DEA3	Münster	€ 36,900
DED5	Leipzig	€ 36,700
EL30	Attiki	€ 36,700
ES23	La Rioja	€ 36,600
DEF0	Schleswig-Holstein	€ 36,500
NL13	Drenthe	€ 36,300
BE22	Prov. Limburg (BE)	€ 36,100
DEB1	Koblenz	€ 35,900
TR42	Kocaeli, Sakarya, Düzce, Bolu, Yalova	€ 35,900
DED2	Dresden	€ 35,600
FI1C	Etelä-Suomi	€ 35,300
FRL0	Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur	€ 34,600
ITI3	Marche	€ 34,500
DE40	Brandenburg	€ 34,200
FRF2	Champagne-Ardenne	€ 34,100
FRJ2	Midi-Pyrénées	€ 34,000
FI1D	Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi	€ 34,000
FRF1	Alsace	€ 33,800
FRG0	Pays de la Loire	€ 33,600
DK02	Sjælland	€ 33,400
PT30	Região Autónoma da Madeira	€ 33,300
DE80	Mecklenburg-Vorpommern	€ 33,200
PT15	Algarve	€ 33,200
ES41	Castilla y León	€ 33,100
FRI1	Aquitaine	€ 33,000
SE31	Norra Mellansverige	€ 32,800
DEE0	Sachsen-Anhalt	€ 32,600
DEG0	Thüringen	€ 32,500
BE33	Prov. Liège	€ 32,400
CZ06	Jihovýchod	€ 32,400
FRD2	Haute-Normandie	€ 32,200
ITF1	Abruzzo	€ 32,200
AT11	Burgenland	€ 32,200
DEB2	Trier	€ 32,000
DE93	Lüneburg	€ 31,900
ES11	Galicia	€ 31,900
FRB0	Centre — Val de Loire	€ 31,900
TR31	İzmir	€ 31,900
DED4	Chemnitz	€ 31,800
RS11	Beogradski region	€ 31,800
ES13	Cantabria	€ 31,700
FRH0	Bretagne	€ 31,700
ITI2	Umbria	€ 31,700
PL51	Dolnośląskie	€ 31,600
TR21	Tekirdağ, Edirne, Kırklareli	€ 31,500
FRC1	Bourgogne	€ 31,400
FRD1	Basse-Normandie	€ 31,400
FRE1	Nord-Pas de Calais	€ 31,400
ES12	Principado de Asturias	€ 31,300
FRI3	Poitou-Charentes	€ 31,300
BE35	Prov. Namur	€ 30,800
CZ02	Střední Čechy	€ 30,800
PL41	Wielkopolskie	€ 30,800
EE00	Eesti	€ 30,500
PL22	Śląskie	€ 30,500
FRJ1	Languedoc-Roussillon	€ 29,600
RO42	Vest	€ 29,600
ES52	Comunitat Valenciana	€ 29,500
CZ03	Jihozápad	€ 29,400
FRK1	Auvergne	€ 29,200
PT1C	Alentejo	€ 29,000
TR41	Bursa, Eskişehir, Bilecik	€ 28,900
ES62	Región de Murcia	€ 28,800
ES42	Castilla-La Mancha	€ 28,700
ITF5	Basilicata	€ 28,600
TR61	Antalya, Isparta, Burdur	€ 28,600
PL63	Pomorskie	€ 28,100
BE34	Prov. Luxembourg (BE)	€ 28,000
CZ05	Severovýchod	€ 28,000
CZ07	Střední Morava	€ 27,900
PL71	Łódzkie	€ 27,900
SI03	Vzhodna Slovenija	€ 27,900
FRC2	Franche-Comté	€ 27,800
FRI2	Limousin	€ 27,800
ITF2	Molise	€ 27,800
FRM0	Corse	€ 27,700
HR03	Jadranska Hrvatska	€ 27,600
BE32	Prov. Hainaut	€ 27,400
ITG2	Sardegna	€ 27,400
CZ08	Moravskoslezsko	€ 27,100
ES70	Canarias	€ 27,100
FRE2	Picardie	€ 27,100
PT20	Região Autónoma dos Açores	€ 27,100
FRF3	Lorraine	€ 27,000
RO11	Nord-Vest	€ 27,000
LV00	Latvija	€ 26,800
PL92	Mazowiecki regionalny	€ 26,700
EL42	Notio Aigaio	€ 26,600
RO12	Centru	€ 26,600
SK02	Západné Slovensko	€ 26,600
PT19	Centro (PT)	€ 26,400
ES43	Extremadura	€ 26,300
FRY2	Martinique	€ 26,200
PL21	Małopolskie	€ 26,200
PT11	Norte	€ 26,100
ES61	Andalucía	€ 25,900
HU22	Nyugat-Dunántúl	€ 25,800
LT02	Vidurio ir vakarų Lietuvos regionas	€ 25,700
HU21	Közép-Dunántúl	€ 25,600
ES63	Ciudad de Ceuta	€ 25,400
FRY1	Guadeloupe	€ 25,000
HU12	Pest	€ 24,900
ITF4	Puglia	€ 24,400
CZ04	Severozápad	€ 24,200
ITF3	Campania	€ 24,200
PL42	Zachodniopomorskie	€ 24,100
TR22	Balıkesir, Çanakkale	€ 24,100
FRY4	La Réunion	€ 24,000
EL64	Sterea Elláda	€ 23,900
ITG1	Sicilia	€ 23,800
PT1D	Oeste e Vale do Tejo	€ 23,800
HR06	Sjeverna Hrvatska	€ 23,700
PL52	Opolskie	€ 23,700
PL61	Kujawsko-pomorskie	€ 23,700
PL43	Lubuskie	€ 23,500
RO41	Sud-Vest Oltenia	€ 23,500
TR32	Aydın, Denizli, Muğla	€ 23,500
EL62	Ionia Nisia	€ 23,300
RO22	Sud-Est	€ 23,300
SK03	Stredné Slovensko	€ 23,300
TR62	Adana, Mersin	€ 23,000
ES64	Ciudad de Melilla	€ 22,800
RO31	Sud-Muntenia	€ 22,800
PL84	Podlaskie	€ 22,700
EL65	Peloponnisos	€ 22,600
EL43	Kriti	€ 22,500
ITF6	Calabria	€ 22,000
PL72	Świętokrzyskie	€ 22,000
TR33	Manisa, Afyonkarahisar, Kütahya, Uşak	€ 22,000
TR52	Konya, Karaman	€ 21,700
EL53	Dytiki Makedonia	€ 21,200
PL82	Podkarpackie	€ 21,100
BG34	Yugoiztochen	€ 20,800
EL52	Kentriki Makedonia	€ 20,800
PL62	Warmińsko-mazurskie	€ 20,700
PT1B	Península de Setúbal	€ 20,700
SK04	Východné Slovensko	€ 20,700
HU33	Dél-Alföld	€ 20,500
HR02	Panonska Hrvatska	€ 20,400
PL81	Lubelskie	€ 20,300
TR71	Kırıkkale, Aksaray, Niğde, Nevşehir, Kırşehir	€ 20,200
TR72	Kayseri, Sivas, Yozgat	€ 20,100
EL61	Thessalia	€ 19,700
ME00	Crna Gora	€ 19,600
TR82	Kastamonu, Çankırı, Sinop	€ 19,400
HU23	Dél-Dunántúl	€ 19,300
TR81	Zonguldak, Karabük, Bartın	€ 19,300
BG33	Severoiztochen	€ 19,000
EL63	Dytiki Elláda	€ 18,900
HU32	Észak-Alföld	€ 18,900
TRC1	Gaziantep, Adıyaman, Kilis	€ 18,900
HU31	Észak-Magyarország	€ 18,400
TR63	Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Osmaniye	€ 17,800
RO21	Nord-Est	€ 17,700
RS12	Region Vojvodine	€ 17,500
EL51	Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki	€ 17,100
EL54	Ipeiros	€ 17,000
TR83	Samsun, Tokat, Çorum, Amasya	€ 17,000
BG32	Severen tsentralen	€ 16,700
TRA1	Erzurum, Erzincan, Bayburt	€ 16,600
TRB1	Malatya, Elazığ, Bingöl, Tunceli	€ 16,300
BG31	Severozapaden	€ 16,200
FRY3	Guyane	€ 16,200
EL41	Voreio Aigaio	€ 16,100
MK00	Severna Makedonija	€ 15,800
BG42	Yuzhen tsentralen	€ 15,700
TR90	Trabzon, Ordu, Giresun, Rize, Artvin, Gümüşhane	€ 15,400
TRC3	Mardin, Batman, Şırnak, Siirt	€ 14,300
RS22	Region Juzne i Istocne Srbije	€ 13,300
TRA2	Ağrı, Kars, Iğdır, Ardahan	€ 12,200
RS21	Region Sumadije i Zapadne Srbije	€ 11,600
TRC2	Şanlıurfa, Diyarbakır	€ 11,000
TRB2	Van, Muş, Bitlis, Hakkari	€ 10,900
FRY5	Mayotte	€ 10,500

Here are two other maps showing something similar for other regions of Europe from Geo Universe. Although it should be noted they use standard GDP per capita rather than PPS.

European regions that are richer and poorer than Bavaria

European regions that are richer and poorer than Northern Italy

and finally here’s a version of the map using older data from 2017 (which includes UK):

Credit The World In Maps