Earlier this year, Political Calculations noted a study by the Sweden-based free-market advocacy group Timbro, which compared the relative wealth of the nations of Western Europe (the 15 members of the European Union prior to the EU being expanded in May 2004) against individual U.S. states. The key finding in Timbro's report (available as a 958KB PDF document) was that:
If the European Union were a state in the USA it would belong to the poorest group of states. France, Italy, Great Britain and Germany have lower GDP per capita than all but four of the states in the United States. In fact, GDP per capita is lower in the vast majority of the EU-countries (EU 15) than in most of the individual American states. This puts Europeans at a level of prosperity on par with states such as Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia.
Timbro's study was based on 2002 economic data, but since it was published, economic data for both 2003 and 2004 has been published. So, the question is now: what's changed in those two years? To find out, Political Calculations has created the following dynamic table comparing each U.S. state's Gross State Product (GSP) or each E.U. nation's Gross Domestic Product adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (GDP-PPP) data for 2004, their respective populations and their corresponding per Capita economic data, which you may sort according to the column headings, either from highest to lowest value or vice-versa.
| US vs EU: 2004 Edition |
|---|
| U.S. State or E.U. Nation | GSP or GDP-PPP (billions 2004 USD) |
Population (July 2004 est.) |
GSP or GDP-PPP per Capita |
|---|---|---|---|
| US - Alabama | 139.8 | 4530182 | 30869 |
| US - Alaska | 34.0 | 655435 | 51909 |
| US - Arizona | 200.0 | 5743834 | 34812 |
| US - Arkansas | 80.9 | 2752629 | 29391 |
| US - California | 1550.8 | 35893799 | 43204 |
| US - Colorado | 200.0 | 4601403 | 43458 |
| US - Connecticut | 185.8 | 3503604 | 53032 |
| US - Delaware | 54.3 | 830364 | 65362 |
| US - District of Columbia | 76.7 | 553523 | 138540 |
| US - Florida | 599.1 | 17397161 | 34435 |
| US - Georgia | 343.1 | 8829383 | 38862 |
| US - Hawaii | 50.3 | 1262840 | 39848 |
| US - Idaho | 43.6 | 1393262 | 31273 |
| US - Illinois | 521.9 | 12713634 | 41050 |
| US - Indiana | 227.6 | 6237569 | 36484 |
| US - Iowa | 111.1 | 2954451 | 37609 |
| US - Kansas | 98.9 | 2735502 | 36171 |
| US - Kentucky | 136.4 | 4145922 | 32911 |
| US - Louisiana | 152.9 | 4515770 | 33869 |
| US - Maine | 43.3 | 1317253 | 32899 |
| US - Maryland | 228.0 | 5558058 | 41020 |
| US - Massachusetts | 317.8 | 6416505 | 49528 |
| US - Michigan | 372.2 | 10112620 | 36802 |
| US - Minnesota | 223.8 | 5100958 | 43878 |
| US - Mississippi | 76.2 | 2902966 | 26237 |
| US - Missouri | 203.3 | 5754618 | 35327 |
| US - Montana | 27.5 | 926865 | 29650 |
| US - Nebraska | 68.2 | 1747214 | 39024 |
| US - Nevada | 100.3 | 2334771 | 42967 |
| US - New Hampshire | 51.9 | 1299500 | 39916 |
| US - New Jersey | 416.1 | 8698879 | 47828 |
| US - New Mexico | 61.0 | 1903289 | 32056 |
| US - New York | 896.7 | 19227088 | 46639 |
| US - North Carolina | 336.4 | 8541221 | 39385 |
| US - North Dakota | 22.7 | 634366 | 35763 |
| US - Ohio | 419.9 | 11459011 | 36641 |
| US - Oklahoma | 107.6 | 3523553 | 30537 |
| US - Oregon | 128.1 | 3594586 | 35638 |
| US - Pennsylvania | 468.1 | 12406292 | 37730 |
| US - Rhode Island | 41.7 | 1080632 | 38569 |
| US - South Carolina | 136.1 | 4198068 | 32426 |
| US - South Dakota | 29.4 | 770883 | 38120 |
| US - Tennessee | 217.6 | 5900962 | 36880 |
| US - Texas | 884.1 | 22490022 | 39312 |
| US - Utah | 82.6 | 2389039 | 34579 |
| US - Vermont | 21.9 | 621394 | 35277 |
| US - Virginia | 329.3 | 7459827 | 44147 |
| US - Washington | 261.5 | 6203788 | 42160 |
| US - West Virginia | 49.5 | 1815354 | 27242 |
| US - Wisconsin | 211.6 | 5509026 | 38413 |
| US - Wyoming | 24.0 | 506529 | 47340 |
| US - All States | 11665.6 | 293655404 | 39959 |
| EU - Austria | 255.9 | 8174762 | 31304 |
| EU - Belgium | 316.2 | 10348276 | 30556 |
| EU - Denmark | 174.4 | 5413392 | 32216 |
| EU - Finland | 151.2 | 5214512 | 28996 |
| EU - France | 1737.0 | 60424213 | 28747 |
| EU - Germany | 2362.0 | 82424609 | 28656 |
| EU - Greece | 226.4 | 10647529 | 21263 |
| EU - Ireland | 126.4 | 3969558 | 31842 |
| EU - Italy | 1609.0 | 58057477 | 27714 |
| EU - Luxembourg | 27.3 | 462690 | 59003 |
| EU - Netherlands | 481.1 | 16318199 | 29482 |
| EU - Portugal | 188.7 | 10524145 | 17930 |
| EU - Spain | 937.6 | 40280780 | 23277 |
| EU - Sweden | 255.4 | 8986400 | 28420 |
| EU - United Kingdom | 1782.0 | 60270708 | 29567 |
| EU - 15 (Members pre-2004) | 10630.6 | 381517250 | 27864 |
Analyzing the Data
The Poorest US State and the Poorest EU-15 Nation in 2004
In ranking the data according to GSP or GDP per Capita, the poorest U.S. state is Mississippi, with a GSP per Capita of $26,237 USD (2004). For the EU-15, the poorest nation is Portugal, whose GDP-PPP per Capita (GDP per Capita adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity in equivalent U.S. dollars) is $17,930 USD.
The Richest US State and the Richest EU-15 Nation in 2004
Discarding the statistical outliers (see below), the richest U.S. state, as measured on a GSP per Capita basis is Delaware, with a GSP per Capita of $65,632 USD. Meanwhile, the richest EU-15 nation is Denmark with $32,216 USD GDP-PPP per Capita figure.
The "Rich" Statistical Outliers
According to the calculated GSP per Capita and the GDP-PPP per Capita data, the richest part of the United States is the District of Columbia (at $138,540 USD) and the richest part of Europe is Luxembourg (at $59,003 USD). Both figures are inflated well beyond the national average (more than double) due to each region's unique situation. The District of Columbia occupies some 61 square miles (158 square kilometers) and is the seat of the U.S. federal government, whose spending makes up the vast bulk of its GSP figure. Luxembourg is the smallest member of the EU, occupying some 998 square miles (2,586 square kilometers - slightly smaller than the U.S.' Rhode Island) and draws considerable capital flight from other countries to its banking institutions given the country's status as a tax haven.
Relative Comparison
In sorting the table from poorest to richest GSP or GDP-PPP per Capita, we see that the three EU-15 nations of Portugal, Greece and Spain are ranked lower than the two poorest U.S. states of Mississippi and West Virginia. Working our way up the GSP and GDP-PPP per Capita chain, we see that the EU-15 nations of Italy, the EU-15 as a whole, Sweden, Germany, France and Finland all rank below the next lowest U.S. state of Arkansas.
Continuing up the chain, we see that the Netherlands and the United Kingdom fall behind Montana and Oklahoma, while Belgium ranks behind Alabama and Idaho. Next, we see Austria and Ireland coming in behind New Mexico, while Denmark - the richest EU-15 nation behind statistical outlier Luxembourg, falls in behind South Carolina and the other 41 U.S. states.
If statistical outlier Luxembourg were a U.S. state, it would rank second behind top U.S. state Delaware.
As far as what has changed in two years time, the answer is "not much."
Data, Data and More Data
GSP and GDP-PPP Data
- 2004 Gross State Product Data for U.S. and Individual States
- 2004 GDP-PPP Data for E.U. and the EU-15 Member Nations
Population Data
GSP and GDP per Capita
This data was calculated by simply dividing the published GSP or GDP data by the US state or EU nation's population estimate for July 2004.
Previously on Political Calculations
- EU vs USA (2002 data)
- Cool Tools and GSP (2002 data)
- GDP of the Americas (2002 data)
- GDP in the Muslim World (2002 data)
- GDP in Europe (2002 data)
- GDP: Africa (2002 data)
- GDP Along the Pacific Rim (2002 data)
- GDP in Asia (2002 data)
- GDP: And the rest... (2002 data)
- posted by Ironman at 6:08 AM | Permalink |
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