Bar chart of income percapita of the countries E.U.

This inequality is evident in the diagram. The first bar indicates the level of income per capita in 1820 and the second in 1998, according to estimates by Maddison. The numbers in brackets located above the second bar corresponds to the average annual growth rate of the region (between 1820 and 1998).

Highlights three main elements:

     * All regions were poor in 1820.
     * All regions have experienced some economic progress.
     * Today's rich regions experienced by far the greatest economic progress.