Real GDP rose in 169 EU regions in 2024 compared with 2023, while 64 regions recorded a fall.
The biggest increase was in Yuzhen Tsentralen in Bulgaria, where real GDP grew by 11.6%, Eurostat reported on Tuesday.
Eastern and Midland in Ireland followed with an 8.5% rise, alongside Severen Tsentralen in Bulgaria (8.4%), Malta (7.0%) and Mayotte — an overseas region of France — (6.2%).
The steepest decline was in Yugoiztochen in Bulgaria, where real GDP fell by 12.7%.
Southern Ireland dropped by 5.5% and La Réunion — another French overseas region — fell by 3.7%, followed by Northern and Western in Ireland and Kärnten in Austria, both down 3.6%.
Eastern and Midland and Luxembourg lead on GDP per head
GDP per capita — a measure of economic output per person — ranged from 30.1% of the EU average in Mayotte to 268.3% in Ireland’s Eastern and Midland region when expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), which adjust for price level differences between countries.
After Eastern and Midland, Luxembourg ranked second at 244.6% of the EU average, followed by Southern Ireland at 216.6%. Hamburg in Germany (196.1%) and Praha in Czechia (191.8%) came next.
Among the lowest-ranked regions were Guyane in France at 40.8% of the EU average, Severozapaden in Bulgaria at 41.7%, Voreio Aigaio in Greece at 42.1% and Severen Tsentralen in Bulgaria at 43.3%.
