The Czech Republic has been steadily climbing the European economic ladder over the past two years, according to the latest Eurostat data. The country’s GDP per capita in purchasing power parity reached 91% of the EU average last year, up from 89% in 2022. However, this figure still falls short of pre-pandemic levels when the Czech economy stood at an impressive 96% of the EU average in 2020.
The improvement has pushed the Czech Republic to become the 15th wealthiest nation in the EU rankings, gaining one position year-over-year. Chief economist Jan Bureš of Patria Finance attributes the slower recovery to both pandemic impacts and the energy crisis, which hit export-oriented industrial economies like the Czech Republic harder than service-based economies such as Spain, Portugal, and France.
Luxembourg leads the pack with a staggering 241% of the EU average, largely due to its high number of foreign workers contributing to GDP. Ireland follows at 211%, boosted by the presence of major multinational tech companies, including Meta’s European headquarters.
Meanwhile, Slovakia has faced challenges, ranking fourth from bottom with 75% of the EU average. The country has maintained this position for three years, having been overtaken by Romania and Portugal since 2021.