Albania and Bosnia have the lowest GDP per capita of 37 European countries examined, while Bulgaria is the EU’s poorest country. | Photo by Bruce A Stockwell/Flickr

Albania has the lowest Gross Domestic Product, GDP, per capita and the lowest Actual Individual Consumption, AIC, of 37 European countries, according to a report by the EU statistics agency Eurostat.

The research covered all EU member states, plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Montenegro, Bosnia and Albania.

Based on preliminary results for 2013 released on Tuesday, Albania’s GDP, expressed in Purchasing Power Standards, PPS, is only 28 per cent of the EU average.

Bosnia is not far behind Albania, with a GDP that is 29 per cent of the EU average, while Macedonia is on 36 per cent, Serbia on 37 per cent, and Montenegro on 40 per cent of the European Union’s average.

Croatia, the EU’s newest member state, is the richest country in the Southeast Europe region with a GDP that is 61 per cent of the EU average. This puts Croatia above two other EU member states in the region – Romania (55 per cent) and Bulgaria (45 per cent).

Eurostat said that in terms of purchasing power parity, Luxembourg has the highest GDP level among the EU member states, at 257 units.