Luxembourg, 26/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - According to the latest estimates published last Friday by Eurostat, regional GDP per capita (expressed in purchasing power) varied in a proportion from 1 to 6 between the various EU regions in 1998. In total, 8 regions out of 211 recorded a GDP above 150% of the Community average: Inner London (234%), Hamburg (186%), Luxembourg (176%), Brussels-Capital (169%), Vienna (163%), Oberbayern (161%), Darmstadt (!%$%) and Ile-de-France (152%). However, these levels can be overestimated due to the high flux of people commuting on a daily basis: in fact, their arrival increases production to a level that could not be achieved only through the activity of the resident population. On the other hand, the GDP per capita can be underestimated in the regions where commuters live.
Moreover, Eurostat indicates that 46 regions do not achieve 75% of the European average. This concerns 13 Greek regions, 5 of the 5 Portuguese regions, 8 Spanish regions, 7 German regions located in the new Lander, 5 Italian regions, 4 regions located in the United Kingdom, 4 Outre-mer French departments, one Austrian region and one region in Ireland.