Europe marks the fourth stop in our continuing series comparing the relative economic performance of the nations of the world with their nearest neighbors!
We've built a dynamic ranking table to show each of the nations' Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), 2006 population and their corresponding 2006 GDP-PPP per Capita. We've also determined each country's rate of growth since 2004 by finding the annualized rate of change in their GDP-PPP per Capita!
Once again, we find that the fastest growing nations in our survey all share a unique characteristic, which would seem to be a major factor helping spark their economic growth. We'll identify the Ten New Lions of Europe in our commentary below the table.
As with all our dynamic tables, you may sort the data by clicking on any of the column headings. Doing so will almost instantaneously sort the data in the table from low to high value or from high to low (by clicking a column heading a second time.) To restore the original order, you'll need to refresh the page in your web browser.
| 2006 GDP-PPP for Europe |
|---|
| Country | July 2006 Est. Population | 2006 Est. GDP-PPP | 2006 GDP-PPP per Capita | % Change GDP-PPP per Capita, Since 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | 3,581,655 | 20,460,000,000 | 5,712.44 | 8.0% |
| Austria* | 8,192,880 | 283,800,000,000 | 34,639.83 | 5.2% |
| Belarus | 10,293,011 | 82,940,000,000 | 8,057.89 | 8.9% |
| Belgium* | 10,379,067 | 342,800,000,000 | 33,028.02 | 4.0% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4,498,976 | 25,280,000,000 | 5,619.06 | -7.3% |
| Bulgaria* | 7,385,367 | 78,680,000,000 | 10,653.50 | 14.0% |
| Croatia | 4,494,749 | 60,260,000,000 | 13,406.76 | 9.4% |
| Cyprus* | 784,301 | 22,580,000,000 | 28,789.97 | 5.0% |
| Czech Republic* | 10,235,455 | 224,000,000,000 | 21,884.71 | 14.1% |
| Denmark* | 5,450,661 | 201,500,000,000 | 36,967.99 | 7.1% |
| Estonia* | 1,324,333 | 26,850,000,000 | 20,274.36 | 18.9% |
| Finland* | 5,231,372 | 176,400,000,000 | 33,719.64 | 7.8% |
| France* | 60,876,136 | 1,891,000,000,000 | 31,063.08 | 4.0% |
| Georgia | 4,661,473 | 17,880,000,000 | 3,835.70 | 11.6% |
| Germany* | 82,422,299 | 2,630,000,000,000 | 31,908.84 | 5.5% |
| Greece* | 10,688,058 | 256,300,000,000 | 23,980.03 | 6.2% |
| Hungary* | 9,981,334 | 175,200,000,000 | 17,552.76 | 8.6% |
| Iceland | 299,388 | 11,380,000,000 | 38,010.88 | 9.2% |
| Ireland* | 4,062,235 | 180,700,000,000 | 44,482.90 | 18.2% |
| Italy* | 58,133,509 | 1,756,000,000,000 | 30,206.33 | 4.4% |
| Latvia* | 2,274,735 | 36,490,000,000 | 16,041.43 | 18.1% |
| Lithuania* | 3,585,906 | 54,900,000,000 | 15,309.94 | 10.5% |
| Luxembourg* | 474,413 | 33,870,000,000 | 71,393.49 | 10.1% |
| Macedonia | 2,050,554 | 16,940,000,000 | 8,261.18 | 7.9% |
| Malta* | 400,214 | 8,411,000,000 | 21,016.26 | 7.5% |
| Moldova | 4,466,706 | 9,070,000,000 | 2,030.58 | 3.4% |
| Netherlands* | 16,491,461 | 529,100,000,000 | 32,083.27 | 4.3% |
| Norway | 4,610,820 | 213,600,000,000 | 46,325.82 | 7.6% |
| Poland* | 38,536,869 | 552,400,000,000 | 14,334.32 | 9.4% |
| Portugal* | 10,605,870 | 210,100,000,000 | 19,809.78 | 5.1% |
| Romania* | 22,303,552 | 202,200,000,000 | 9,065.82 | 8.5% |
| Slovakia* | 5,439,448 | 99,190,000,000 | 18,235.31 | 12.0% |
| Slovenia* | 2,010,347 | 47,010,000,000 | 23,384.02 | 9.2% |
| Spain* | 40,397,842 | 1,109,000,000,000 | 27,451.96 | 8.6% |
| Sweden* | 9,016,596 | 290,600,000,000 | 32,229.46 | 6.5% |
| Switzerland | 7,523,934 | 255,500,000,000 | 33,958.30 | 0.2% |
| Ukraine | 46,710,816 | 364,300,000,000 | 7,799.05 | 11.3% |
| United Kingdom* | 60,609,153 | 1,930,000,000,000 | 31,843.38 | 3.8% |
| European Union* | 456,953,258 | 13,060,000,000,000 | 28,580.60 | 5.8% |
| Europe (All) | 580,485,495 | 14,426,691,000,000 | 24,852.80 | 6.0% |
* - Member of the European Union.
The Ten New Lions of Europe
Assuming you've sorted the table above to make it easy, you've found that the European nations with double-digit rates of growth over the years from 2004 to 2006 are Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovakia, and Ukraine. What makes these nations stand out in comparison to their neighbors, or rather, nine of them, is their tax systems and increasing levels of international trade.
Low, or Flat, Taxes
Six of the fastest growing European nations have established flat tax rates for individuals (Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Ukraine). On the corporate side, Ireland has established the lowest corporate tax rate in all of Europe, drawing substantial international investment.
Meanwhile, Luxembourg is considered to be a tax haven and benefits greatly from its much lower taxes compared to those of its neighboring countries.
Trade
Bulgaria and the Czech Republic round out the top ten nations of Europe, and both have benefited greatly by greater ties to international markets since their days under the control of the Soviet empire. Both have increased their economic ties with the European Union, with Bulgaria becoming part of the EU in January 2007.
Sources and Acknowledgements:
- 2006 GDP-PPP Data: The World Factbook, 2007
- July, 2006 Population Estimate: The World Factbook, 2006 via Bartleby.
- Table Sorting Function: The Daily Kryogenix.
Previously on Political Calculations
2006 Economic and Population Data
2004 Economic and Population Data
- Pacific Rim: 2004 GDP Rankings
- GDP Rankings in Muslim Nations
- 2004 GDP Rankings for Asia
- European Union 2004 GDP Rankings
- GDP in Africa: 2004
- GDP Rankings of the Americas: 2004 Edition
- EU vs US: Two Years of Economic Data Later....
2002 Economic and Population Data
- EU vs USA
- Cool Tools and GSP
- GDP of the Americas
- GDP in the Muslim World
- GDP in Europe
- GDP: Africa
- GDP Along the Pacific Rim
- GDP in Asia
- GDP: And the rest...
- posted by Ironman at 9:26 AM | Permalink |
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