[ETH_start]

Averages tell us the general availability of wealth. To give you some perspective, most European countries are poorer than the poorest U.S. state, which is Mississippi. There just aren't as many high-paying jobs. And these figures encompass everything, including what the government spends on health care and welfare programs and education. So Europeans as a whole get much less per capita from both government and private sector. When it comes to purchasing power parity, which takes into account cost-of-living differences, the gap isn't as big as above, but it's still pretty significant.

[rvba]

Avetage tells nothing you should use median or a graph.

[ETH_start]

Median data is better, yes, but it's harder to get. Average correlates quite strongly with median.