Malta’s GDP per capita in 2012 stood at 86 per cent of the EU average, expressed in Purchasing Power Standards, unchanged since 2010.

When Malta joined the EU in 2004 it stood at 80 per cent, according to Eurostat, dropping to 78 per cent in 2006 and 2007.

The first estimates for 2012 show that GDP per capita in the member states ranged from 47 per cent to 271 per cent of the EU27 average in 2012.

The highest level of GDP per capita in the EU27 was recorded in Luxembourg with a level of more than two and a half times the EU27 average.

Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden were around 30 per cent above the average. Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Finland were between 15 per cent and 25 per cent above the average, while the UK and France were around 10 per cent above. In Italy and Spain, GDP per capita was just below the EU27 average. Cyprus was around 10 per cent below the average, while Malta, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Greece and Portugal were between nearly 15 per cent and 25 per cent lower.

Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Hungary and Latvia were between 30 per cent and 40 per cent lower than the average, while Romania and Bulgaria were more than 50 per cent below the average. Actual Individual Consumption per capita in the member states ranged from 48 per cent to 141 per cent of the EU27 average.

While GDP per capita is often used as an indicator of countries’ level of welfare, it is not the only such indicator. An alternative welfare indicator, better adapted to reflect the situation of households, is Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) per capita. In 2012, AIC per capita ranged between 48 per cent of the EU average in Romania to 141 per cent in Luxembourg. Malta’s stood at 85 per cent.