Revised top 10 richest cities in Europe by GDP per capita

[Maciamo]

It is common to classify European regions rather than cities to compare GDP per capita (example on Wikipedia).

Fo this, regions are categorised by size defined by strict standards. Larger regions are known as NUTS-1, average size region as NUTS-2, and smaller regions as NUTS-3.

For instance, the Greater London is a NUTS-1 region, but Inner London is a NUTS-2 region. The Ile-de-France (Greater Paris) qualifies as either NUTS-1 or NUTS-2, while the City of Paris itself is a NUTS-3 region. In other words, Paris and London are never listed in the ranking for the same category.

Besides, large NUTS-1 regions like the Randstad Metropolitan Area in Holland comprise many cities (in this case, Amsterdam, Haarelm, Leiden, Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam, Delft, Gouda, and so on).

This makes comparisons between actual cities rather difficult. Here is a ranking based on cities, big or small, instead of regions. This gives a better idea of where money is made. GDP per capita figures are in euro at PPP for 2004.

1) Frankfurt : 68,751
2) Paris : 67,980
3) Inner London : 65,138
4) Luxembourg : 53,978
5) Brussels : 53,381
6) Hamburg : 41,972
7) Vienna : 38,632
8) Stockholm : 35,621
9) Utrecht : 33,905
10) Bremen : 33,508

According to this new ranking, London isn't the richest European city anymore. The cost of life in London is considerably higher than in Paris, which is itself much more expensive than Frankfurt. This may be reflected in the ranking, as figures are PPP adjusted. Nominal GDP per capita may still be the highest in London, followed by Paris.

[Oliver Chettle]

The London number is for Inner London, while the Paris figure is for the City of Paris, which is the equivalent of Inner London. So they are comparable right? Wrong. In Paris, the bulk of the upper middle class lives in the inner city and the poorest areas are in the suburbs. In London, far more of the upper middle class lives in the suburbs and the poorest areas are in the inner city. Since Paris only marginally beats London on a comparison that is loaded in its favour, I would strongly suspect that the London urban area as a whole is richer than the Paris urban area as a whole.

Frankfurt is really too small for comparisons with London and Paris to be very relevant.

[Maciamo]

The London number is for Inner London, while the Paris figure is for the City of Paris, which is the equivalent of Inner London. So they are comparable right? Wrong. In Paris, the bulk of the upper middle class lives in the inner city and the poorest areas are in the suburbs. In London, far more of the upper middle class lives in the suburbs and the poorest areas are in the inner city.

It doesn't matter where the rich and the poor live. GDP is not calculated based on individual wealth, but the money produced by businesses. Most of the big companies in London are based in Inner London (including Canary Wharf in Tower Hamlets).

Anyway, just for the sake of the argument, London also has rich neighbourhoods in the centre (Mayfair, Westminster, Kensington), and many upper-class Parisian live outside the City of Paris (even if it's in nearby Neuilly-sur-Seine).

Since Paris only marginally beats London on a comparison that is loaded in its favour, I would strongly suspect that the London urban area as a whole is richer than the Paris urban area as a whole.
Frankfurt is really too small for comparisons with London and Paris to be very relevant.

According to Wikipedia, Greater London's GDP per capita was of ￡27,633 in 2004 (about US$ 39,500 at the current exchange rate). In comparison the Ile-de-France region had a GDP per capita of US$63,025 in 2007.

Even adjusting for the 2% increase over 3 years between 2004 and 2007, and taking into account the weakness of the pound now, I am not sure that London would have a higher GDP per capita.

Here is another way of comparing. Nation-wide, the Greater London accounts for about 20% of the British GDP. The Ile-de-France region represents one third of the French GDP. As the GDP of the UK and France are very similar, it is undeniable that the GDP of the capital region is stronger in France. That also means that French people outside the capital are poorer than British people from outside London. No wonder Parisians look down on "provincials" the way they do.

[martin parra]

what of madrid working to make the money?. There is no good economy in the usa and mexico but I will go to spain the home of my ancestors or to argentine mabey is better?

I can grow all vegetable and grain crop.