Malta's GDP was 79% of the GDP average last year, from 77% in the two previous years, figures issued today show.

In 2009, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant in Luxembourg, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), was more than two and a half times the EU27 average, while the Netherlands recorded a level more than 30% above the average.

Ireland, Austria and Denmark were between 20% and 30% above the EU27 average, while Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Finland and the United Kingdom were between 10% and 20% above average.

France, Italy and Spain registered GDP per inhabitant between 0% and 10% above the EU27 average, while Cyprus and Greece were between 0% and 10% below the average.

Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Malta and Slovakia were between 10% and 30% lower than the EU27 average.

Hungary, Estonia, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia were between 30% and 50% lower, while Romania and Bulgaria were between 50% and 60% below the EU27 average.

Eurostat said the high GDP per inhabitant in Luxembourg was partly due to the country's large share of cross-border workers in total employment. While contributing to GDP, these workers were not taken into consideration as part of the resident population which is used to calculate GDP per inhabitant.

The Purchasing Power Standard (PPS) is an artificial currency unit that eliminates price level differences between countries. Thus one PPS buys the same volume of goods and services in all countries. This unit allows meaningful volume comparisons of economic indicators across countries.