ANKARA

Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita index based on purchasing power parity (PPP) last year was 64, while the average for EU countries was 100, Turkey’s statistical authority announced on Monday.

Despite the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the country's index rose 3 points from the previous year.

Turkey’s GDP per capita index was 36% lower than the EU average, according to the preliminary results of the European Comparison Program for 2020, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

Luxembourg had the highest GDP per capita index of 266, out of the 37 countries included in the comparison, according to TurkStat data.

"The country with the lowest index of GDP per capita was Albania with 31," it said.

"Luxembourg had GDP per capita being 166% above the EU-27 average whereas Albania 69% was below the EU-27 average," the report said.

The PPP is an index that allows a comparison of both economic activities and living standards among different countries.

The official report includes data from the EU's 27 member states, as well as three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway), five candidate countries (Turkey, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Albania), one potential candidate country (Bosnia and Herzegovina), and the UK.

Meanwhile, the actual individual consumption (AIC) per capita in Turkey was 72 in 2020, versus the EU average of 100.

The AIC consists of goods and services actually paid or purchased by consumers as well as provided freely by governments, or by non-profit organizations (education, health care, etc.).

While GDP per capita is mainly an indicator of the level of economic activity, actual individual consumption per capita is an alternative indicator better adapted to describe the material welfare situation of households.