Bulgaria ranked lowest in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)  per capita among the 28 member states of the European Union last year, according to the latest statistical data published by Eurostat.

In 2014, GDP per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) ranged between 47% of the EU average in Bulgaria and 266% in Luxembourg – a ratio of nearly one-to-six.

The high GDP per capita in Luxembourg is partly due to the country's large share of cross-border workers in total employment, Eurostat explained. While contributing to GDP, these workers are not taken into consideration as part of the resident population which is used to calculate GDP per capita. Revisions and timetable

Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) per capita expressed in PPS varied from 51% of the European Union (EU) average in Bulgaria to 141% in Luxembourg, Eurostat said.

AIC is a measure of material welfare of households. It consists of goods and services actually consumed by individuals, irrespective of whether these goods and services are purchased and paid for by households, by government, or by non-profit organisations. In international volume comparisons of consumption, AIC is often seen as the preferable measure to GDP, since it is not influenced by the fact that the organisation of certain important services consumed by households, like health and education services, differs a lot across countries.  

Ten member states recorded AIC per capita above the EU average of 100 in 2014. The highest level in the EU was recorded in Luxembourg, 41% above the EU average. Germany and Austria were more than 20% above. Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, France and Sweden followed with levels between 10% and 15% above the EU average.

At the bottom were six member states with AIC per capita more than 30% below the EU average. Estonia, Latvia, Hungary and Croatia were between 30% and 40% below, Romania had AIC per capita 43% below the EU average, while Bulgaria was around 50% below.