Romania climbed one spot in the annual ranking of 28 EU member states in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2017, coming ahead of Croatia, Eurostat said on Tuesday. The GDP per capita of Romania amounted to 63% of the EU average last year, as the nation gained five percentage points and moved up to 26th position in the ranking, while Croatia respectively dropped to 27th place with 61%, according to first estimates of the EU's statistical office. Bulgaria’s GDP per capita amounted to 48% of the EU average last year, the lowest level among all 28 EU member states. Slovenia, in 16th place, ranked highest ranking among the EU member states in Southeast Europe (SEE) with its GDP per capita at 85% of the EU average in 2017. Montenegro had the highest GDP per capita score among the EU candidate countries from SEE equal to 46% of the EU average, while Albania, with 29%, had the lowest.