Mass migration from the countryside to the urban settlements still shows its traces in Europe nowadays. The areas which were historically rural such as central France, Ireland, Central Spain and South Portugal are today still the the least populated areas. However the areas with the least population overall are found in Sweden and Finland. The scarce population of these two countries is concentrated in the Southern regions as extremely cold weather conditions makes the North less attractive for human settlement. Western Europe is one of the richest regions in the World.
All countries have a relatively high GDP, some areas richer than others.
The richest regions in Europe regarding GDP seem to be in and around West Germany. Although it is possible that GDP per person may actually be higher in Switzerland. But it is not included in our survey, given that it is not a EU member state. The highest GDP is found amongst the inhabitants of the Frankfurt and Parisian regions. This is obviously explained by the importance of these towns in the European economy.