More than half of Europe's regions have a level of wealth below the EU average.

Omissions

• The retrieved Eurostat sources document the skew of the regional distribution (only 19 NUTS level 2 regions were at least 50% above the EU average in 2024 and only 3 were more than twice the average) but none of them explicitly states the exact share of regions below the EU average; the claim's precise figure ('more than half') is inferred from the distribution rather than quoted verbatim from a source.
• 'Wealth' is not a Eurostat indicator: the claim is only verifiable if wealth is proxied by GDP per inhabitant in PPS (or by household income indicators such as median disposable income), which can yield a different share of regions below the average.
• The speaker does not specify a reference year; the most recent regional GDP per inhabitant data available before the 2026-10-21 session date refer to 2024, published by Eurostat in October 2025.
• The number of regions concerned depends on the NUTS classification in force (NUTS 2021 vs NUTS 2024) and on data availability for outermost regions and candidate countries.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostat — Statistics Explained, 'Economy at regional level'"In 2024, 3 EU regions recorded GDP per inhabitant more than twice the EU average: the Irish regions of Eastern and Midland (2.68 times the average) and Southern ..."; "There were 19 NUTS level 2 regions across the EU where GDP per inhabitant was at least 50% above the EU average in 2024. This group included: 11 capital regions ..."
• PrimaryEurostat news release — 'Which EU regions have the highest GDP per inhabitant?' (ddn-20251020-1)"The Irish regions of Dublin (139 500 PPS) and South-West (137 300 PPS) recorded the highest GDP per inhabitant levels among the nomenclature of ..."
• PrimaryEurostat — 'Regions in Europe – 2026 edition' (interactive publication)Interactive regional publication presenting Eurostat regional indicators for the EU; retrieved excerpt: "In 2023, 4.9 million R&D personnel were employed in the EU, representing 2.5% of total employment. Slightly more than half worked in the business enterprise ..."