BRUSSELS, Belgium (Associated Press) - Growth surged last year in the 13 countries seeking membership in the European Union, increasing by a combined rate of 5%, the EU's statistical office reported Monday.
Eurostat said the jump in gross domestic product in 2000 ranged between 1.6% for Romania and 7.2% in Turkey. In 1999, five of the 13 candidate countries experienced negative growth, though in 2000 they all were positive.
The combined 5% growth figure for the candidate countries compares with 3.3% for the 15 EU countries.
In terms of purchasing power, per capita GDP was highest in Cyprus at 82% of the EU average, and Slovenia, at 71%. By comparison, Greek GDP was 68% of the EU average, Portugal 74% and Spain 81%.
The candidate countries reported the following GDP growth rates in 1999 and 2000:
-Bulgaria: 2.4% (1999), 5.8 % (2000)
-Cyprus: 4.5 %, 4.8 %
-Czech Republic: -0.8 %, 3.1 %
-Estonia: -1.1 %, 6.4 %
-Hungary: 4.2 %, 5.2 %
-Latvia: 1.1 %, 6.6 %
-Lithuania: -3.9 %, 3.3 %
-Malta: 4.0 %, 4.7 %
-Poland: 4.1 %, 4.0 %
-Romania: -2.3 %, 1.6 %
-Slovakia: 1.9 %, 2.2 %
-Slovenia: 5.2 %, 4.6 %
-Turkey: -4.7 %, 7.2 %