Poorest Countries in the EU

Key Takeaways

• Bulgaria and Greece are tied for the lowest GDP per capita in the EU. Both have a GDP per capita 32% below the EU average.
• Bulgaria’s low ranking traces to a shrinking working-age population, weak enforcement of competition rules in government contracts, and persistent skills shortages.
• Greece’s GDP per capita remains more than 15% below its own pre-financial-crisis growth trend.
• Luxembourg’s GDP per capita score of 239 is more than 3.5 times higher than Bulgaria and Greece’s 68.
• Every EU country with a GDP per capita below 80 sits in Eastern Europe, aside from Greece in the south. Every EU country with an index value above 110 sits in Western or Northern Europe.
• The regional split traces largely to EU accession history: most countries below 80 joined during the bloc’s 2004–2013 eastward enlargement and are still converging from a lower starting point.
• Long-term economic problems, not short-term setbacks, keep Bulgaria and Greece anchored at the bottom of the EU’s income rankings.

Poorest EU Countries by GDP per Capita

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Bulgaria and Greece Are Tied for the Lowest GDP per Capita in the EU

Bulgaria and Greece share the lowest GDP per capita in the European Union. Both recorded 68 on the EU’s 2025 GDP per capita index.

GDP per capita shows how much a country produces for each person who lives there. That number closely matches how much people earn on average. That’s why it’s used to measure whether a population is rich or poor.

This GDP per capita index is expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS). PPS removes price differences between countries, reflecting real purchasing power rather than raw currency values.

GDP Per Capita vs Consumption Per Capita in the EU ->

On this GDP per capita index, the EU average is set at 100. An index value of 68 is 32% below that average.

Bulgaria’s GDP per capita traces to weak enforcement of competition and a shrinking workforce. Greece’s index value traces to an unfinished recovery from the 2008 financial crisis.

Weak Enforcement and a Shrinking Workforce Hold Bulgaria Back

Bulgaria’s low income traces to a cluster of long-term problems. Four problems stand out:

• Bulgaria has fewer working-age people every year. The number of people old enough to work has been dropping fast since the 2010s.
• Government contracts often go to weaker companies. Rules meant to keep competition fair aren’t strictly enforced, so money ends up with less efficient firms instead of the best ones.
• Many workers don’t have the skills employers need. That holds back how much both workers and companies can produce.
• New investment isn’t paying off as much as it used to. As the economy has grown, each new dollar put in has produced smaller gains than before.

Without reform, the working-age decline is projected to slow growth even further.

Greece Still Hasn’t Recovered From the 2008 Financial Crisis

Greece’s per capita income remains more than 15% below its own pre-financial-crisis growth trend. This income gap has persisted through more than a decade of recovery efforts.

Greece’s GDP per capita has grown 26% since 2020. But, two decades after the 2008 financial crisis, that only brings it back to 92% of its pre-crisis level.

Four factors continue to slow Greece’s catch-up:

• An investment rate that remains below the euro-area average
• Sluggish productivity growth that has yet to return to its pre-crisis trend
• A working-age population projected to shrink by about 1% a year, combined with fewer women and young people working or seeking jobs
• Heavy paperwork and red tape make it harder for Greek businesses to grow

Luxembourg Is More Than 3.5 Times as Wealthy as Bulgaria and Greece

Luxembourg and Ireland post the two highest GDP per capita figures in the EU:

• Luxembourg: 239
• Ireland: 238

Luxembourg’s GDP per capita is more than 3.5 times higher than Bulgaria and Greece’s 68.

GDP per capita is a country’s total income split among everyone who lives there. Luxembourg has a lot of cross-border workers, people who work there but live in a neighboring country, who add to that income without counting toward the population. That’s why Luxembourg’s GDP per capita ends up higher than it would with residents alone.

Ireland’s GDP per capita figure comes from multinational companies that hold valuable patents there. Profits from these patents go to Ireland, even if manufacturing happens abroad.

This patent-profit arrangement is the reason why Ireland’s GDP per capita looks high. However, much of this income also flows back to owners abroad rather than staying in Ireland.

Every EU country with a GDP per capita below 80 sits in Eastern Europe, aside from Greece in the south. Every EU country with an index value above 110 sits in Western or Northern Europe.

This regional split traces largely to EU accession history. Most countries with a GDP per capita below 80 joined during the bloc’s 2004–2013 eastward enlargement. They are still converging from a lower starting point.

These newly joined EU countries include Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, and Slovakia.

Which EU Country Has the Highest Trade-to-GDP Ratio? -> 

The gap between the EU’s richest and poorest members is a reminder that EU membership alone does not close income differences.

Two decades after the EU’s biggest wave of new member countries joined, a shrinking workforce still weighs on Bulgaria and Greece. 

Weak enforcement of competition in government contracts in Bulgaria and an unfinished recovery from the financial crisis in Greece keep them anchored at the bottom.