Which European regions have the highest income levels?

In 2021, EU net primary income per inhabitant was 20 700 purchasing power standard (PPS), up from 19 500 PPS in 2020. 

There were 10 EU regions at level 2 of the nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS 2) in 2021 with a ratio of net primary income per inhabitant of at least 30 000 PPS. 6 out of these 10 regions were located in Germany, while the rest were located in other western regions of the EU.

The use of data in PPS, rather than in euro, takes into account the price level differences between countries. One PPS can buy the same amount of goods and services in each country, regardless of local price differences.

The highest level of net primary income per inhabitant was recorded in Oberbayern (southern Germany), at 38 300 PPS. Oberbayern was followed by 3 more German regions, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Darmstadt.

By contrast, at the bottom of the ranking, there were 11 regions where the ratio of net primary income per inhabitant was lower than 10 000 PPS in 2021. 

The regions with the lowest level of primary income per inhabitant were recorded in Bulgaria: Yuzhen tsentralen (6 800 PPS), Severozapaden (6 900 PPS) and Yugoiztochen, which tied with France’s outmost region of Mayotte (both 7 300 PPS).