Warsaw region matches average EU wealth

Warsaw skyline: photo - Arkadiusz Ziółek www.ziolek.pl

Poland's capital Warsaw ensured that Masovia was the best performing Polish area, with a GDP per capita in the region that was 102 percent of the EU average, according to Eurostat's survey, which covers the year 2010.

Polish daily Rzeczpospolita estimates that if Warsaw was analysed on its own, it would be 70 to 80 percent over the EU average.

The buoyancy of Masovia far outstrips other Polish regions.

The second best performer was Lower Silesia, the capital of which is Wroclaw. The average GDP per capita in the region was 70 percent of the EU norm.

However, Poland's five worst-performing regions count among the poorest twenty regions in the entire EU.

Poland's poorest areas are the south eastern Lublin and Podkarpackie regions, which both managed an average GDP per capita that was 42 percent of the EU norm.

Emigration to the UK has been especially pronounced from south east Poland.

Meanwhile, the wealthiest area in Europe is London, where the average GDP per capita was 328 percent of the EU's average. (nh)