History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1080]


Are you asking me what the perception was before the Eastern bloc was established? Well, as far as I know, all this region including Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and probably some other countries, was called Central Europe (Mittel Europa). The term "Eastern Europe" wasn't that much in use I suppose. It's mostly a product of the Cold war. But given there were fewer media outlets (no internet, TV, etc.), the perception was rather uncertain. Maybe that's one of the reasons why Neville Chamberlain said about Czechoslovakia during the Munich crisis that it was a far-away country of which they (the British) knew nothing. But in fact Czechoslovakia at that time was a highly developed country, better off than Italy, Spain or Austria. And maybe it's this kind of attitude that this so called "Eastern Europe" is just too far away to give a damn about.

History / POLAND: EASTERN or CENTRAL European country? [1080]

I'm afraid it's gonna be friggin' hard to change "Western" European people's perception of that part of Europe. Any country that has ever been behind the Iron Curtain is always gonna be considered part of Eastern Europe. They will hardly acknowledge any major differences within that region. You can call it ignorance or lack of education, but sadly that's just the way it is.

News / Poland's Economy Is Booming! The EU's Success Story? [711]

gdyniaguy
Here are some figures for comparison (source: International Monetary Fund 2010-2011).

A list of EU countries by GDP (PPP) per capita (an indicator of a country's standard of living):

Luxembourg 80,119 Intl. $
Netherlands 42,183
Austria 41,822
Sweden 40,394
Ireland 39,639
Germany 37,897
Belgium 37,737
Denmark 37,152
Finland 36,236
United Kingdom 36,090
France 35,156
Spain 30,626
Italy 30,462
...................................................
Cyprus 29,074
Slovenia 28,642
Czech Republic 27,062
Greece 26,294
Malta 25,428
Portugal 23,361
Slovakia 23,304
Estonia 20,380
Poland 20,334
..................................................
Hungary 19,591
Lithuania 18,856
Latvia 15,662
Bulgaria 13,597
Romania 12,476

News / Why are Czechs more effective than Poles and Poland? [116]

I recently came across this list of EU countries by GDP (PPP) per capita (an indicator of a country's standard of living) where the Czech Republic scores quite high. It's better off than Portugal, Greece and Malta (on the same level as New Zealand, for instance). Poland lags well behind the Czech Republic, but it's still a good position. I think the fact that the Czech Republic performs better than Poland is mainly historical - Czechoslovakia has always had strong ties with its rich neighbors - Austria and Germany, plus in the interwar period it was the only democracy in Central and Eastern Europe and one of the most prosperous and industrial regions in the world. When the Communists took power in 1948, Czechoslovakia's political, economic and cultural environment was thoroughly Western (unlike other Eastern bloc countries, so the post-1989 transition was just easier I guess.

Luxembourg 80,119 Intl. $
Netherlands 42,183
Austria 41,822
Sweden 40,394
Ireland 39,639
Germany 37,897
Belgium 37,737
Denmark 37,152
Finland 36,236
United Kingdom 36,090
France 35,156
Spain 30,626
Italy 30,462
...................................................
Cyprus 29,074
Slovenia 28,642
Czech Republic 27,062
Greece 26,294
Malta 25,428
Portugal 23,361
Slovakia 23,304
Estonia 20,380
Poland 20,334
..................................................
Hungary 19,591
Lithuania 18,856
Latvia 15,662
Bulgaria 13,597
Romania 12,476

Where is the link ?

Oh, sorry, the source is International Monetary Fund (2010-2011).