While preparing some remarks on economic diversity in Europe, I came across some comparative figures from the EU:

  • Looking at per-capita earnings, Luxembourg (the richest EU member state) is seven times wealthier than Romania (the poorest EU member state).
  • Looking at average GNP per capita for the whole European Union, Inner London (the richest EU region) scores 290% this average, while North-East Romania (the poorest region) reaches only 23% of the same average.  

According to the EU, a 7x wealth disparity is also found in India or China. By comparison, the regional gap in the USA is 2.5, and in Japon 2x (meaning that the wealthiest region is twice as rich as the poorest).

Of course, these aggregates paint a picture that's imperfect at best. But the 7:1 ratio grabs your attention and highlights the weighty burdens now placed on EU regional policies.