OREANDA-NEWS. June 25, 2008. In 2007, Latvian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant expressed in purchasing power standards, was at 58 percent of the average of the 27 European Union (EU) member states, which is the fourth lowest index in EU, according to the EU statistical office's "Eurostat" data.

The highest GDP per inhabitant was registered in Luxembourg, where the average EU level was surpassed 2.8 times. High levels of GDP per inhabitant in the EU were registered also in Ireland, where it surpassed the EU average by 46 percent, the Netherlands, where it was 31 percent higher, Austria - 28 percent, Sweden - 26 percent, Denmark - 23 percent, Belgium - 18 percent higher than the EU average.

The lowest levels of GDP per inhabitant in the EU were in Bulgaria - 38 percent of the EU average, Romania - 41 percent, Poland - 54 percent, Latvia - 58 percent, Lithuania - 60 percent, Hungary - 63 percent, Slovakia - 69 percent and Estonia - 72 percent of the EU average.

The figures for GDP per inhabitant are expressed, using an artificial currency unit Purchasing Power Standard (PPS), which takes into account the price difference in various countries.

The study covers the 27 EU Member States, the three candidate countries, three EFTA countries and two Western Balkan countries.