Romania in line with the Baltic states as fastest converging EU members

Romania in line with the Baltic states as fastest converging EU members
By bne IntelliNews June 22, 2021

Romania’s GDP per capita, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), increased to 72% of the European Union’s average  last year — 3pp up from 2019 and 20pp up over the past decade, according to the first estimates published by the union’s statistics office, Eurostat.

The performance puts the country in line with the Baltic States — the group of countries that have boasted, among the union’s new member states, the most robust convergence towards the European Union’s average GDP and wealth levels. Lithuania’s GDP per capita rose to 87% of the EU average, marking the steepest (26pp) advance over the past decade. The other two Baltic States boasted robust convergence rates of 20pp in Estonia, to 86% of the average, and 18% in Latvia, to 72%.

In terms of the convergence level reached, Romania’s economy ranks 2pp below that of Hungary and 4pp behind Poland, but well above the economy of Bulgaria (55% of the EU average) or even Greece or Turkey (64% each).

When it comes to actual individual consumption (AIC) per capita, also expressed in PPS, Romania does even better: its AIC rose to 79% of the EU’s average, 25pp up from a decade ago. This was again the second-widest leap, after Lithuania (+29% and 96% of the EU average). By AIC per capita, Romania thus ranks within the Baltic States’ 72%-96% corridor, somewhat below Poland (83%) but well above Hungary (69%), while Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia score weaker ratios of 72%, 61% and 52% respectively.

In the region, Hungary (69% of the EU average), Bulgaria (61%), and even Greece (78%) lag behind while Poland stands out with a strong 83% ratio.

AIC, GDP at PPP AIC at PPP   10-yr change   GDP at PPP   10-yr change
  2010 2020     2010 2020  
               
EU 27 100 100 0   100 100 0
Euro area  109 105 -4   109 105 -4
Belgium 113 113 0   121 117 -4
Bulgaria 45 61 16   44 55 11
Czechia 77 87 10   84 94 10
Denmark 119 121 2   131 136 5
Germany  119 123 4   121 121 0
Estonia 61 79 18   66 86 20
Ireland 103 94 -9   132 211 79
Greece 95 78 -17   85 64 -21
Spain 93 87 -6   96 86 -10
France 113 109 -4   109 103 -6
Croatia 60 67 7   60 64 4
Italy 111 97 -14   106 94 -12
Cyprus 105 98 -7   102 87 -15
Latvia 56 72 16   54 72 18
Lithuania 67 96 29   61 87 26
Luxembourg 141 131 -10   260 266 6
Hungary 63 69 6   66 74 8
Malta 84 83 -1   87 97 10
Netherlands 124 117 -7   137 133 -4
Austria 122 114 -8   128 124 -4
Poland 70 83 13   63 76 13
Portugal 88 85 -3   83 77 -6
Romania 54 79 25   52 72 20
Slovenia 82 80 -2   85 89 4
Slovakia 76 73 -3   76 71 -5
Finland 113 114 1   118 115 -3
Sweden 119 111 -8   128 123 -5
Iceland 116 124 8   121 125 4
Norway 134 128 -6   176 142 -34
Switzerland 134 123 -11   166 160 -6
United Kingdom 119 110 -9   111 102 -9
Montenegro 53 61 8   41 46 5
North Macedonia 40 44 4   35 38 3
Albania 34 40 6   29 31 2
Serbia 47 52 5   39 43 4
Turkey 53 72 19   53 64 11
Bosnia and Herzegovina 39 43 4   30 33 3
United States 160 156 -4   147 136 -11
Japan 106 97 -9   106 91 -15
source: Eurostat              

Data

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