THE LATEST Eurostat survey shows that the Bratislava region is among the top twenty wealthiest regions in the European Union, as measured by GDP per inhabitant in 2006.
However, the survey also reveals the large differences between the regions of Slovakia. While Bratislava's GDP per capita is 149 percent of the EU average, the figure for all of western Slovakia is much lower at less than 63 percent. Regions of central Slovakia have a GDP per capita less than 50 percent of the EU average and eastern Slovakia is at only 44 percent, Nový Čas daily wrote.
The four leading European regions in 2006 were Inner London in the United Kingdom (336% of the average), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (at 267%), Brussels in Belgium (at 233%) and Hamburg in Germany (at 200%). Among the 41 regions exceeding the average by 125% or more, eight were in Germany, six in the United Kingdom, five in the Netherlands, four in Austria, three each in Spain and Italy, two each in Belgium and Finland, and one region each in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, France, Slovakia, Sweden, and the Luxembourg, Eurostat wrote in its report.
The twenty lowest regions in the ranking were all in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania.
Among the 68 regions below the 75% level, 15 were in Poland, seven each in Romania and the Czech Republic, six each in Bulgaria, Greece and Hungary, five in Italy, four each in France (all overseas regions) and Portugal, three in Slovakia, and one region each in Spain, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
