WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2010/97 by José APOLINÁRIO to the Commission. Eurostat statistics on per capita GDP in the Algarve
Date: 1997-06-04
Institutions: APOLINARIO, European Parliament
Subjects: Algarve, Andalusia, EU statistics, Eurostat, economic statistics, gross domestic product, national accounts

C 45/142

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

10. 2. 98

(98/C 45/183)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2010/97

by Jose· Apolina·rio (PSE) to the Commission

(4 June 1997)

Subject: Eurostat statistics on per capita GDP in the Algarve

In a recent report on development in European regions, Eurostat gave the figure for GDP in the Algarve as 74%
of  the  Community  average,  an  increase  of  15  points  from  1993  to  1994  (from  59  to  74%).  The  figure  for
Andalusia,  which  borders  on  the  Algarve,  was  given  as  57%  of  the  Community  average.  Given  the  level  of
development of the two regions, these figures are hard to understand and somewhat contradictory.

Will the Commission provide a full explanation of this abrupt increase in wealth, explaining what criteria lie
behind this distortion and supplying a comparative table of the criteria used in 1993 and 1994? Will it also say
what criteria were used for Andalusia?

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission

(3 July 1997)

The figures of 59% and 74% referred to by the Honourable Member are not comparable.

As explained in (cid:145)Statistics in Focus › the Regions(cid:146), which sets out the results, national figures for gross domestic
product (GDP) are regionalized for each Member State on the basis of the most recent regional structure of gross
value added, as transmitted by the national statistical institutes.

When the estimates for 1993 were being made, the most recent data for Portugal related to 1990. Regional per
capita GDP for the Algarve, expressed as a percentage of the Community average, was estimated at 59%.

In 1996, the National Statistical Institute of Portugal (INE) furnished the Commission with revised information
for the period 1988-1992. These new data took into account the first results of ongoing work to improve the
methodology of national and regional accounts in Portugal. The new data led to a revision of regional GDP for
the Algarve, which is now estimated at 73% of the Community average for 1993 and 74% for 1994.

The  corresponding  data  for  Andalusia  are  58%  in  1993  and  57%  in  1994,  but  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  direct
comparison between the two regions. Andalusia (approximately 87 300 km2  and 7 million inhabitants) is much
bigger than the Algarve (approximately 5 000 km2 and 340 000 inhabitants). Consequently, the Spanish region is
much less homogeneous than the Portuguese Province. A more detailed geographical analysis (at NUTS3 level),
moreover,  shows  that  per  capita  GDP  in  Andalusia  varies  from  53%  of  the  Community  average  in  Granada
Province to 65% in Almeria Province.

Furthermore,  the  discrepancy  between  the  level  and  rate  of  development  in  the  two  regions  is  due  to  the
difference in the structure of gross value added by branch of activity. In particular, the share accounted for by the
branch (cid:145)Recovery and repair, trade services, catering and accommodation(cid:146), which includes a large portion of the
activities connected with tourism, is 38% in the Algarve, but only 25% in Andalusia.

(98/C 45/184)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2014/97

by Klaus Lukas (NI) to the Commission

(11 June 1997)

Subject: Benes decrees

Under the mandate conferred on it by the Copenhagen European Council, the Commission is required, inter alia,
to review the realization of fundamental democratic rights and the rule of law in the countries of Central and
Eastern Europe which are implementing reforms and have applied for accession to the EU.