Here they are grouped together, with an explainer where not obvious (hint it’s almost always where the capital is located).
I love the attempt at this and after looking into, it’s actually quite difficult.
That said, I’ve also put countries in bold where I dispute the claim:
North
- Belgium: Brussels is technically in the Northern part of the country, but I’d say this one almost qualifies for the middle. That said Flanders as a whole is much richer than Wallonia.
- Croatia: Despite a significant amount of Croatia being located in the West of the country, Zagreb in the north is by far the richest region.
- Estonia: Tallin in located in the North just across from Helsinki.
- France: Paris and the wider Ile de France are in the North.
- Italy: No question the North of Italy is richer than the South.
- North Macedonia: Living up to its name (also Skopje is in the north)
- Serbia: Belgrade is in sort of the centre north of country so checks out.
- Spain: Again like Belgium, Madrid is the richest part of the country and is pretty much right in the centre. That said the next richest areas are all in the North.
- Switzerland: Zürich has the largest GDP of any Canton and Basel-Stadt has the highest GDP per capita. Both are in the North.
South
- Cyprus: Nicosia is in the middle of the country, but Limassol is in the South, so while debatable I’d say this makes sense.
- Bulgaria: Sofia and the country’s richest region are in the West of the country, so I don’t agree with this one.
- Finland: Helsinki is in the south of the country.
- Germany: On first glance, you probably think East/West divide. However, Bavaria is the richest state in Germany per capita excluding the city states of Hamburg and Bremen (both located in the North of the country). However, given that Bavaria has a much larger economy than both put together I think the South claim stands.
- Greece: Athens is on the Southern part of the mainland so I think this checks out.
- Ireland: This one I totally disagree with. Dublin is by far the richest part of Ireland and is located the Eastern and Midland Eurostat region. The only way this makes sense is that Republic or Ireland in the South is richer than Northern Ireland.
- Kosovo: Pristina is really more the centre of the country, but failing that it’s more East than South.
- Luxembourg: Luxembourg city is in the South of the country so this tracks.
- Moldova: The second poorest country in Europe, but Chișinău is located in the Southern part of the country.
- Montenegro: Podgorica is in the south of the country so this makes sense.
- Norway: Oslo is in the South, so checks out.
- Sweden: Stockholm is technically in the southern half of the country, but again I would say East makes as much if not more sense than South.
- UK: No question, London and the South-East are by far the richest part of the country.
East
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: I’d say Sarajevo is as much South as it is East, so don’t fully agree with this.
- Denmark: Copenhagen is in the East of the country so I agree with this.
- Lithuania: Vilnius is in the East of the country.
West
- Albania: Tirana is sort in the middle of the country, but more West than East.
- Austria: Disagree with this one, Vienna is in the East of the country and has the highest GDP per capita and biggest economy in the country.
- Belarus: Minsk is right in the middle of the country, but the West is slightly richer than the East, so probably makes the most sense.
- Czech Republic: Prague is very much in the West of the country.
- Hungary: While Budapest is again very much in the middle of the country, the Western parts of the country are far richer than the Eastern ones.
- Iceland: Reykjavík and the vast majority of people live in the West of the country so this is a no brainer.
- Latvia: Riga more West than East so this makes sense.
- The Netherlands: Despite its North Holland (which includes Amsterdam) is the richest part of the country, but I think lies more in the West than North of the country.
- Poland: While the much of western of Poland is richer than the East, Warsaw itself is by far the richest part of the country and very much in the East.
- Portugal: Lisbon is right on the Atlantic in the West of country so again totally agree.
- Romania: Bucharest is by far the richerst part of Romania and is in the South or East, depending on how you’d want to define it.
- Russia:Most of Russia’s people and economy are in European Russia, which is the Western part of the country so this stands.
- Slovakia: Bratislava is about as west as you can go in the country, so this unquestionably correct.
- Slovenia: Ljubljana is in the middle of the country, although marginally more West than East.
- Turkey: Istanbul and European Trukey are very much in the West so I totally agree with this.
- Ukraine: I’d say Kyiv is much more northern than Western, and the next richest regions are actually to the East of it, so disagree with this one.
As a result here’s my attempt at the map, which includes a middle category:
You can see the Eurostat data for the EU and some other regions in the table below:
| 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 |
Also see: Which Parts Of Europe Are Richer & Poorer Than East Germany In 3 Maps
What do you think if the map and my thoughts?
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