Harmonised gross domestic product (PIBH). In purchasing power parity per inhabitant (PPP)

Gross Domestic Product per inhabitant (GDPph) is an economic variable which is used to indicate the economic level of a territory. In territories of a certain size it is a reliable measure of the welfare of the population.

Homogeneous comparisons of macromagnitudes between different economies require a specific unit of account: purchasing power parity (PPP). Its purpose is to homogenise the purchasing power of the residents in each territory in order to eliminate differences caused by the different price levels in the territories being compared.

To measure this economic variable in Catalonia, Idescat presents indexes for the EU-27, EU-15, EMU-19 and Spain. The information has two options:

• GDP per inhabitant (GDPph)
• Harmonised GDP per inhabitant (HGDPph)

At the end of this note there is a list of the countries included in each of the geographical areas.

GDP per inhabitant is obtained from Idescat's estimates of GDP(2019 Benchmark revision) and population on 1 July.

Harmonised GDP per inhabitant is obtained from the GDP and population estimates for Catalonia in INE's Spanish Regional Accounting. Harmonised GDP (HGDP) has been drawn up using methods for dividing up the state variable, and hence the sum of regional estimates is congruent with the state total. As a result they are harmonised estimates.

Either GDP or HGDP can be used depending on the user's purpose. In this respect it is complementary information with differentiated analytical features.

The tables show the reference data used to build the indexes. In the case of HGDP the published index per inhabitant is calculated using GDP, population and PPP. By agreement between Eurostat and the EU Member States, the value of GDP of the "extraregio" activities are no longer divided between the rest of the territories of each State.

The comparison of macromagnitudes between different territories in the same state raises some specific problems similar to those found between different states. Eurostat assigns the same purchasing power parity to all the regions in a state, butthe results of the regional comparisons could vary significantly if adjustments were made to include these differentials.

GDPph and HGDPph estimates are provisional to the extent that the original variables used in the calculation are too (GDP, population and exchange rates in purchasing power parities). Thus these data may be revised due to the inclusion of new statistical information.

In view of the different calendar for the dissemination of the magnitudes estimated by the INE, Eurostat and Idescat, the updating of the data involved in the calculation of these two indicators is performed at different points in time. This circumstance may produce a temporary difference in relation to the reference period of the series that are disseminated. For example, the reference period of the GDP per inhabitant in purchasing power parity does not match that of the Annual Economic Accounts for Catalonia until Eurostat updates the purchasing power parities. There may also be some transitory inconsistency in the harmonised data for GDP per inhabitant as the Regional Spanish Accounts (CRE) analyses its data with a delay and less frequently than the Spanish National Accounts (CNE).

Geographical areas:

• Euro Zone (EMU-19): Germany, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal and Cyprus.
• European Union (EU-15): Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom and Sweden.
• European Union (EU-27 2020): Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.