Capitals are pushing aside other municipalities in the ranking of the most prosperous regions of the European Union.
As reported by «Русская Германия», the center of the British capital, the so-called Inner London, which within the framework of pan-European studies has the status of a separate region, remains unrivaled in the overall ranking. GDP in terms of purchasing power parity there is three and a quarter times higher than the EU average.
In absolute numbers, GDP per capita (without purchasing power parity adjustment) in central London is 96 thousand euros, which is a record figure for a united Europe, whose average barely exceeds 26 thousand. However, extremely high prices for almost all types of goods and services somewhat curb the purchasing power of Londoners, which otherwise would have even more surpassed the capabilities of other Europeans.
With a noticeable gap behind London comes Luxembourg, where GDP in terms of purchasing power parity is "only" two and a half times higher than the European average. Brussels, rounding out the top three most prosperous regions of the EU, exceeds it by two times.
Hamburg remains one of the few regions without capital status that made it into the top ten of the ranking. Slightly less than the residents of Brussels, the inhabitants of the North German metropolis exceed the purchasing power of the average European by almost two times.
Unexpectedly high positions in the ranking were taken by Slovakia's capital Bratislava, which equaled Stockholm in purchasing power parity (1.8 times higher than the European average) and even overtook Paris (1.7). And the French capital is hotly pursued by Prague, which lags behind it by only a few percent.
Modest positions among European capitals are held by Berlin with a purchasing power parity that is only 14 percent above the European average. This is slightly higher than in Lisbon, Budapest, and Warsaw, but about 15 percent lower than in Madrid, Bucharest, and Rome.