Why is Eastern Europe less developed Than Western Europe? - Brussels Morning Newspaper (2024)

Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Eastern Europe is less developed than western Europe. Several factors make the countries in eastern Europe poor as compared to the countries situated in Western Europe. There were countries in eastern Europe that were backward. The reason behind the less development on the eastern side is that it was occupied by or vassal to the Ottomans. Some religious and cultural reasons made the countries located in the east poor.

Romania Is Europe’s Poorest Country

In the past, there were countries in Europe that were considered to be advanced according to the European standard. It is hard to describe a country as poor when it comes to determining it at a global level.

Romania is considered to be one of the poorest countries in Europe. It is located in Eastern Europe and most people living in the country are middle class. Most people living in the country life as average people. Most apartments in Romania are 120 square meters.

The houses in the countryside are a little away from the city. People can afford to go on holidays either within Romania or to other neighboring countries. However, some people cannot afford to go on an expensive holiday somewhere farther away. The University is free and the healthcare is practically free as well.

The Vikings Were Responsible For The Western European Countries Development

The only reason people perceive Eastern Europe as poor is that the comparison is made with some of the richest countries in the world. In 900 some divergence occurred between Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Before that incident, Western and Eastern Europe were similar in prosperity. Both of them had only one factor holding them back. It was the foreign invaders that restricted their development. significantly holding them back: foreign invaders.

For Western Europe, it was the Scandinavian Vikings who wanted to take over the river cities and traffic. The Vikings have also become successful in disrupting river traffic in the Western European nations. They could scarcely use their rivers to trade. It was a fact that Western Europe had one of the best economic systems. This is why the Vikings robbed Western Europe as they were after their prosperity. This resulted in Western European countries working harder to maintain their economy.

More VC activity in Western Europe

It is no big surprise that VC activities in Western Europe are on a rise even in this decade. The VC activity in Western Europe is more strong than in Eastern Europe. Countries located in Western Europe have more developed economies. They also have a higher level of income per capita.

This is the reason why more money is available for entrepreneurs to use for their business plans. More established businessmen live in Western Europe as they have a bigger scope to achieve their business goals. Many aspiring entrepreneurs in Eastern Europe are also moving to the western startup hubs as they want to boost their chances of securing funding.

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Startups Are Visionary In Western Europe And More Pragmatic In Eastern Europe.

VC funding is more available in Western Europe. This is why the entrepreneurs in that region have a lot of good opportunities to sell the vision of a product. Businessmen living in Western Europe have similar business plans to the U.S. Western European countries are more progressive as they have got more opportunities to flourish.

When it comes to Eastern Europeans they have to sell their products fully and without any promotion. People living in eastern Europe are conservative when it comes to the products in Eastern Europe. There is an underlying distrust that comes out from the region’s long history of dishonest business practices carried out in the past.

When it comes to Eastern European startups are much more pragmatic. They are more focused on the specific things that can bring money right now. Western European startups are more visionary and they are more concerned about long-term strategy. You can consider a few of Eastern Europe’s unicorns and take them as an example.

The social media apps like Skype, Prezi, and Avast were created as pragmatic solutions and they were aimed at solving common problems. Western Europe’s unicorns, like Spotify and Mindmaze, were designed to wrestle the more complex issues.

Ironically, Eastern European IT companies are expected to diversify later because the region’s characteristically small markets are not that active. Western European startups are always ready to grab every single opportunity because they want to work in the larger market.