Change in GDP per capita in select regions of Europe 1989-1998

Between 1989 and 1998, GDP per capita in the former-Soviet states dropped by 45 percent, from 7.1 trillion FY1990 U.S. dollars to 3.9 trillion, due to the dissolution of the union and the fall of the communist system in Europe. In contrast, the rest of the Eastern bloc began their economic recovery shortly after transitioning to capitalism, and by 1998 GDP per capita was 93 percent of its rate at the end of the cold war. Western Europe's GDP per capita growth was slow between 1989 and 1993, due to the knock-on effect of these events, although it saw healthy growth throughout the rest of the decade.