Economy of the European Union

Economy of the European Union
City of Frankfurt, one of EU's financial centres and seat of the ECB
Currency Euro (€) (EUR) = 1.15 USD[1]
and 10 others
Calendar year
Trade organisations
 WTO, G20, G7 and others
Statistics
GDP $18.8 trillion (nominal; 2018)[2]
$22.0 trillion (PPP; 2018)[2]
GDP growth
 Increase 2.4% (2017)[3]
GDP per capita
 $38,370 (nominal; 2018)[2]
$43,119 (PPP; 2018)[2]
GDP by sector
 Agriculture: 1.5%
Industry: 24.5%
Services: 70.7% (2016 est.)[4]
Positive decrease 1.5% (September 2017)[5]
Population below poverty line
 9.8% (2013)[4]
Positive decrease 30.8 (2016)[6]
Increase 0.899 (very high)
Labour force
 238 million (2017 est.)[4]
21 million unemployed (2016)[7]
Labour force by occupation
 Agriculture: 5%
Industry: 21.9%
Services: 73.1% (2014 est.)[4]
Unemployment Positive decrease 7.3% (January 2018)[7]
Average gross salary
 €35,000 (~US$43,000), annual (2015)[8]
€24,000 (~US$30,000), annual (2015)[8]
Main industries
External
Exports $1.9 trillion (2015 est.)[9]
Export goods
 machinery, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, aircraft, plastics, iron and steel, wood pulp and paper products, alcoholic beverages, furniture
Main export partners
Imports $1.7 trillion (2015 est.)[9]
Import goods
 fuels and crude oil, machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, precious gemstones, textiles, aircraft, plastics, metals, ships
Main import partners
FDI stock
 €4 trillion (inward, 2012)[10]
€5.2 trillion (outward, 2012)[11]
Increase €161.6 billion; 1.1% of GDP (2015)[12]
$13.05 trillion (31 December 2014 est.)[9]
Increase -€2,557.4 billion; 17.5% of GDP (2015)[13]
Public finances
Positive decrease 83.2% of GDP (2016)[14]
Revenues 44.9% of GDP (2016)[15]
Expenses 47.4% of GDP (2015)[16]
Economic aid donor: ODA, $87.64 billion[18]
Foreign reserves
 $0.6 trillion (2010).[20]
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.
GNI per capita of EU, 2016

The European Union is the second largest economy in the world in nominal terms and according to purchasing power parity (PPP). The European Union's GDP was estimated to be $18.8 trillion (nominal) in 2018,[21] representing ~22% of global economy (Nominal global GDP).[22]

The euro, used by 19 of its 28 members, is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar.[23][24][25] The euro is the official currency in 25 countries, in the eurozone and in six other European countries, officially or de facto.

The European Union (EU) economy consists of an internal market of mixed economies based on free market and advanced social models. The GDP per capita (PPP) was $37,800 in 2015,[4] compared to $57,084 in the United States and $14,340 in China.[26] With a low Gini coefficient of 31, the European Union has a more egalitarian repartition of incomes than the world average.[27][28]

Major economic hubs and financial centres where the large number of institutions, companies and banks is located are Amsterdam, Brussels, Bucharest, Dublin, Frankfurt, Goteborg, Helsinki, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris and Warsaw.

Euronext is the main stock exchange of the Eurozone and the 7th world largest by market capitalisation.[29] Foreign investments made in the European Union total $5.1 trillion in 2012, while the EU's investments in foreign countries total $9.1 trillion, by far the highest domestic and foreign investments in the world.[30][31]

Since the beginning of the public debt crisis in 2009, opposite economic situations have emerged between Southern Europe on one hand, and Central and Northern Europe on the other hand: a higher unemployment rate and public debt in the Mediterranean countries with the exception of Malta, and a lower unemployment rate with higher GDP growth rate in the Eastern and in Northern member countries. In 2015, public debt in the European Union was 85% of GDP, with disparities between the lowest rate, Estonia with 9.7%, and the highest, Greece with 176%.[32]

The seven largest trading partners of the European Union are the United States, China, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, Turkey and Norway. The EU is represented as a unified entity in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the G-20 and G7, alongside with the EU's member countries participating.

Currency

The Eurozone or euro area (dark blue) represents 343 million people. The euro is the second-largest reserve currency in the world.

Beginning in the year 1999 with some EU member states, now 19 out of 28 EU states use the euro as official currency in a currency union. The remaining 9 states continued to use their own currency with the possibility to join the euro later. The euro is also the most widely used currency in the EU.

Since 1992 the Maastricht treaty sets out rigid economic and fiscal convergence criteria for the states joining the euro. Starting 1997, the Stability and Growth Pact has been started to ensure continuing economic and fiscal stability and convergence.

Denmark and the United Kingdom, not members of the eurozone, have special opt-outs concerning the later joining of the euro. Also, Sweden can effectively opt out by choosing when or whether to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which is the preliminary step towards joining. The remaining states are committed to join the euro through their Treaties of Accession.

Starting with Greece in 2009, five of the 19 eurozone states have been struggling with a sovereign debt crisis, by many called the European debt crisis. All these states started reforms and got bailout packages (Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus). As of 2015, all countries but Greece have recovered from their debt crisis. Other non-eurozone states also experienced a debt crisis and also went through successful bailout programmes, i.e. Hungary, Romania and Latvia (the latter before it joined the eurozone).[33]

Budget

The operation of the EU has an agreed budget of €141 billion for the year 2011, and €862 billion for the period 2007–2013,[34] this represents around 1% of the EU's GDP.

Sectors

Services

The services sector is by far the most important sector in the European Union, making up 74.7% of GDP, compared to the manufacturing industry with 23.8% of GDP and agriculture with only 1.5% of GDP.[35]

Financial services are well developed within the Single Market of the Union. Companies have a greater reliance on bank lending than in the United States, although a shift towards companies raising more funding through capital markets is planned through the Capital Markets Union initiative, the EU plan put forward by the Commission in September 2015 to mobilise the free movement of capital within the EU.[36] The plan aims "to establish the building blocks of an integrated capital market in the EU by 2019".[37] The CMU initiative comprises 33 measures in all.[38] The plan was updated in June 2017. The Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, Valdis Dombrovskis, former Prime Minister of Latvia, is responsible for delivery of the initiative.[39][40][41][42]

Many EU cities are financial centres; financial institutions and companies located in the United Kingdom, especially, provide significant financial services to companies located within the EU.[43][44] For example, UK-located banks underwrite around half of the debt and equity issued by EU companies, UK-located banks are counterparty to over half of the over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivatives traded by companies and banks in the EU, and 30 million EEA policyholders are insured through an insurer based in the UK. Central counterparties (CCPs) located in the UK provide services to EU clients in a range of markets and asset managers operating in the UK account for 37% of all assets managed across Europe.[45] According to the Global Financial Centres Index, after the United Kingdom leaves the EU in March 2019, the two largest financial centres in Europe, London and Zurich, will be outside the European Union.[46] The two largest financial centres remaining within the EU will then be Frankfurt and Luxembourg City.

London is also a leading international centre for professional services which are sold to clients across the EU.

Agriculture

The agricultural sector is supported by subsidies from the European Union in the form of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In 2013 this represented approximately €45billion (less than 33% of the overall budget of €148billion) of the EU's total spending.[47] It was used originally to guarantee a minimum price for farmers in the EU. This is criticised as a form of protectionism, inhibiting trade, and damaging developing countries; one of the most vocal opponents is the UK, the second largest economy within the bloc, which has repeatedly refused to give up the annual UK rebate unless the CAP undergoes significant reform; France, the biggest beneficiary of the CAP and the bloc's third largest economy, is its most vocal proponent. The CAP is however witnessing substantial reform. In 1985, around 70% of the EU budget was spent on agriculture. In 2011, direct aid to farmers and market-related expenditure amount to just 30% of the budget, and rural development spending to 11%. By 2011, 90% of direct support had become non-trade-distorting (not linked to production) as reforms have continued to be made to the CAP, its funding and its design.[48]

Tourism

The European Union is a major tourist destination, attracting visitors from outside of the Union and citizens travelling inside it. Internal tourism is made more convenient by the Schengen treaty and the euro. All citizens of the European Union are entitled to travel to any member state without the need of a visa.

France is the world's number one tourist destination for international visitors, followed by Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany. It is worth noting, however, that a significant proportion of international visitors to EU countries are from other member states.

London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is also the world's most visited city (16.9 million visitors in 2012), and the highest in tourism receipts. It is followed by Paris, with 16 million visitors.[49]

Energy

Wind power stations in Cerová, Slovakia.

The European Union has uranium, coal, oil, and natural gas reserves. There are six oil producers in the European Union, primarily in North Sea oilfields. The United Kingdom is by far the largest producer; Denmark, Germany, Italy, Romania and the Netherlands all produce oil. If it is treated as a single unit, which is not conventional in the oil markets, the European Union is the 19th largest producer of oil in the world, producing 1,241,370 (2013) barrels a day.

It is the world's second largest consumer of oil, consuming much more than it can produce, at 12,790,000 (2013) barrels a day. Much of the difference comes from Russia and the Caspian Sea basin. All countries in the EU have committed to the Kyoto Protocol, and the European Union is one of its biggest proponents. The European Commission published proposals for the first comprehensive EU energy policy on 10 January 2007.

Companies

The European Union's member states are the birthplace of many of the world's largest leading multinational companies, and home to its global headquarters. Among these are distinguished companies ranked first in the world within their industry/sector, like Allianz, which is the largest financial service provider in the world by revenue; WPP plc which is the world's largest advertising agency by revenue; Amorim, which is the world's largest cork-processing and cork producer company; ArcelorMittal, which is the largest steel company in the world; Inditex which is the biggest fashion group in the world; Groupe Danone, which has the world leadership in the dairy products market.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the largest beer company in the world; L'Oréal Group, which is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company; LVMH, which is the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate; Nokia Corporation, which was the world's largest manufacturer of mobile telephones; Royal Dutch Shell, which is one of the largest energy corporations in the world; and Stora Enso, which is the world's largest pulp and paper manufacturer in terms of production capacity, in terms of banking and finance the EU has some of the worlds largest notably HSBC and Grupo Santander, the largest bank in Europe in terms of Market Capitalisation.

Many other European companies rank among the world's largest companies in terms of turnover, profit, market share, number of employees or other major indicators. A considerable number of EU-based companies are ranked among the worlds' top-ten within their sector of activity. Europe is also home to many prestigious car companies such as Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, as well as volume manufacturers such as Dacia, Citroen, Fiat, Opel, Peugeot, Renault, Seat, Volkswagen, Volvo and more.

The following is a list of the largest EU based stock market listed companies in 2016. The ordered by revenue in millions of US Dollars and is based on the Fortune Global 500.

Fortune top 10 E.U. corporations by revenue (2016)[50]
RankCorporationStock tickerRevenue $ millionsProfit $ millionsEmployeesHeadquartersIndustry
1Royal Dutch ShellRDS.A272,1561,93990,000Shell Centre, London, UK, The Hague, NetherlandsEnergy
2VolkswagenVLKAY236,600-1,520610,076Wolfsburg, GermanyMotor Vehicles & Parts
3BP PLCBP.L183,0004,10074500London, UKEnergy
4DaimlerDDAIY165,8009,345284,015Stuttgart, GermanyMotor Vehicles & Parts
5EXOR GroupEXOSF152,591825303,247Turin, ItalyFinancials
6TotalTOT143,4215,08796,019Paris, FranceEnergy
7E.ONEONGY129,277-7,76456,490Essen, GermanyEnergy
8AXAAXAHY129,2506,23198,279Paris, FranceFinancials
9AllianzAZSEY122,9487,339142,459Munich, GermanyFinancials
10BNP ParibasBNPQY111,5317,426181,551Paris, FranceFinancials

Economies of member states

Wealth

The twelve new member states of the European Union have enjoyed a higher average percentage growth rate than their elder members of the EU. Slovakia has the highest GDP growth in the period 2005–2015 among all countries of the European Union (See Tatra Tiger). Notably the Baltic states have achieved high GDP growth, with Latvia topping 11%, close to China, the world leader at 9% on average for the past 25 years (though these gains have been in great part cancelled by the late-2000s recession).

Reasons for this growth include government commitments to stable monetary policy, export-oriented trade policies, low flat-tax rates and the utilisation of relatively cheap labour. In 2015 Ireland had the highest GDP growth of all the states in EU (25.1%). The current map of EU growth is one of huge regional variation, with the larger economies suffering from stagnant growth and the new nations enjoying sustained, robust economic growth.

Although EU28 GDP is on the increase, the percentage of gross world product is decreasing because of the emergence of economies such as China, India and Brazil.

Population and GDP per capita of European countries (2010)
EU member states real GDP growth rates[3][51]
Member state 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Yearly Growth
(2012-2017)		 Last Available
Quarter
 Austria 0.70.00.81.11.5 3.0 1.18 3.0
 Belgium 0.20.21.31.41.4 1.7 1.03 1.4
 Bulgaria 0.00.91.33.63.9 3.6 2.22 3.4
 Croatia −2.3−0.5−0.12.43.5 2.9 1.0 2.8
 Cyprus −3.1−5.9−1.42.03.4 3.9 −0.18 3.9
 Czech Republic −0.8−0.52.75.32.5 4.3 2.25 2.4
 Denmark 0.20.91.61.62.0 2.3 1.43 0.6
 Estonia 4.31.92.91.93.5 4.9 3.23 3.7
 Finland −1.4−0.8−0.60.12.5 2.8 0.43 2.5
 France 0.30.61.01.11.2 2.2 1.07 1.7
 Germany 0.50.52.21.72.2 2.2 1.55 1.9
 Greece −7.3−3.20.7−0.3−0.2 1.4 −1.48 1.8
 Hungary −1.62.14.23.42.2 4.0 2.38 4.6
 Ireland 0.21.38.825.15.0 7.2 7.93 10.0
 Italy −2.8−1.70.11.00.9 1.5 −0.17 1.2
 Latvia 4.02.41.93.02.2 4.5 3 4.4
 Lithuania 3.83.53.52.02.3 3.8 3.15 3.8
 Luxembourg −0.43.75.82.93.1 2.3 2.9 5.1
 Malta 2.74.68.29.55.2 6.7 6.15 5.7
 Netherlands −1.0−0.11.42.02.2 2.9 1.23 2.7
 Poland 1.61.43.33.83.1 4.8 3 5.0
 Portugal −4.0−1.10.91.81.6 2.7 0.32 2.3
 Romania 1.23.53.43.94.8 6.9 3.95 4.2
 Slovakia 1.71.52.83.93.3 3.4 2.77 3.9
 Slovenia −2.7−1.13.02.33.1 4.9 1.58 4.3
 Spain −2.9−1.71.43.43.3 3.1 1.1 2.7
 Sweden −0.31.22.64.53.2 2.3 2.25 3.3
 United Kingdom 1.42.02.92.31.8 1.7 2.02 1.3
 European Union −0.40.31.82.32.0 2.4 1.4 2.1
Eurozone −0.9−0.21.42.11.9 2.4 1.12 2.1
EU member states GDP (nominal) in billions of €[52]
Member state 2007 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
 Austria 283.978 318.653 323.910 333.062 344.493 353.296 369.899
 Belgium 344.712 387.500 392.339 400.288 410.435 423.048 437.204
 Bulgaria 32.449 41.947 42.011 42.762 45.286 48.129 51.663
 Croatia 43.926 43.996 43.725 43.391 44.522 46.382 48.990
 Cyprus 17.591 19.490 18.140 17.606 17.742 18.122 19.571
 Czech Republic 138.303 161.434 157.742 156.660 168.473 176.564 191.643
 Denmark 233.383 254.578 258.743 265.757 271.778 277.489 288.981
 Estonia 16.246 17.940 18.932 19.766 20.348 21.098 23.615
 Finland 186.584 199.793 203.338 205.474 209.604 215.773 223.843
 France 1,945.670 2,086.929 2,115.256 2,147.609 2,194.243 2,228.857 2,291.705
 Germany 2,513.230 2,758.2602,826.2402,923.9303,032.8203,132.670 3,277.340
 Greece 232.695 191.204 180.654 178.656 176.312 174.199 177.735
 Hungary 102.169 99.502 101.887 105.574 110.723 113.731 124.050
 Ireland 197.202 175.561 180.298 194.537 262.037 275.567 294.110
 Italy 1,609.551 1,613.2651,604.5991,621.8271,652.152 1,680.523 1,724.955
 Latvia 22.679 22.05822.874 23.681 24.353 24.927 27.033
 Lithuania 29.041 33.34834.960 36.568 37.427 38.668 42.191
 Luxembourg 37.179 44.112 46.50049.993 52.102 53.004 55.378
 Malta 5.757 7.1657.6438.4549.51710.192 11.140
 Netherlands 613.280 645.164652.748663.008683.457 702.641 737.048
 Poland 313.874 389.377 394.734 411.005 430.055 425.980 467.167
 Portugal 175.468 168.398170.269 173.079179.809 185.179 194.614
 Romania 128.618 133.511144.253150.357160.314 169.771 187.940
 Slovakia 56.242 72.70374.17076.088 78.896 81.154 84.851
 Slovenia 35.153 36.076 36.239 37.615 38.837 40.418 43.000
 Spain 1,080.807 1,039.815 1,025.693 1,037.820 1,079.998 1,118.522 1,166.319
 Sweden 356.434 423.341435.752432.691449.015 465.186 475.231
 United Kingdom 2,245.324 2,078.292 2,063.624 2,278.894 2,602.140 2,395.801 2,332.087
 European Union 12,997.544 13,463.405 13,577.271 14,044.690 14,797.444 14,907.852 15,350.567
Eurozone (19) 9,403.064 9,837.430 9,934.758 10,157.540 10,515.850 10,790.077 11,188.371
EU member states GDP (nominal) per capita in €[52]
Member state 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
 Austria 37,800 38,200 39,000 39,900 40,400 42,100
 Belgium 35,000 35,300 35,800 36,500 37,500 38,500
 Bulgaria 5,7005,8005,9006,3006,800 7,300
 Croatia 10,30010,300 10,20010,600 11,100 11,800
 Cyprus 22,600 21,00020,700 20,900 21,300 22,800
 Czech Republic 15,40015,00014,90016,000 16,700 18,100
 Denmark 45,50046,10047,100 47,80048,400 50,100
 Estonia 13,50014,30015,000 15,500 16,000 18,000
 Finland 36,90037,40037,60038,20039,300 40,600
 France 31,80032,10032,400 33,00033,300 34,200
 Germany 34,30035,00036,200 37,300 38,200 39,600
 Greece 17,30016,50016,400 16,300 16,200 16,600
 Hungary 10,00010,30010,700 11,300 11,600 12,700
 Ireland 38,200 39,200 42,200 56,400 58,800 61,200
 Italy 26,70026,50026,70027,200 27,700 28,500
 Latvia 10,80011,400 11,900 12,30012,700 13,900
 Lithuania 11,20011,80012,50012,90013,500 14,900
 Luxembourg 83,00085,30089,50091,50090,700 92,800
 Malta 17,10017,90019,400 21,40022,400 23,800
 Netherlands 38,50038,90039,30040,400 41,300 43,000
 Poland 10,10010,30010,70011,20011,100 12,200
 Portugal 16,00016,30016,60017,40017,900 18,900
 Romania 6,7007,2007,500 8,1008,600 9,600
 Slovakia 13,40013,70014,00014,600 14,900 15,600
 Slovenia 17,50017,600 18,200 18,800 19,600 20,800
 Spain 22,20022,00022,30023,30024,100 25,100
 Sweden 44,50045,40044,60045,800 46,900 47,200
 United Kingdom 32,600 32,200 35,300 40,000 36,500 35,300
 European Union 26,60026,800 27,600 29,000 29,200 30,000
Eurozone 29,200 29,500 30,000 31,000 31,700 32,800
 Serbia[lower-alpha 1] 4,4004,8004,7004,7004,900 5,200
 Montenegro[lower-alpha 2]
EU member states Gini coefficients[6]
Member state 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
 Austria 27.427.627.027.627.227.2
 Belgium 26.326.525.925.926.226.3
 Bulgaria 35.033.635.435.437.038.3
 Croatia 31.230.930.930.230.629.7
 Cyprus 29.231.032.434.833.632.1
 Czech Republic 25.224.924.625.125.025.1
 Denmark 26.626.526.827.727.427.7 27.6
 Estonia 31.932.532.935.634.832.7
 Finland 25.825.925.425.625.225.4
 France 30.830.530.129.229.229.3
 Germany 29.028.329.730.730.129.5
 Greece 33.534.334.434.534.234.3
 Hungary 26.927.228.328.628.228.2
 Ireland 29.830.530.731.129.829.5
 Italy 32.532.432.832.432.433.1
 Latvia 35.135.735.235.535.434.5 34.5
 Lithuania 33.032.034.635.037.937.0
 Luxembourg 27.228.030.428.728.531.0
 Malta 27.227.127.927.728.128.5
 Netherlands 25.825.425.126.226.728.2
 Poland 31.130.930.730.830.629.8
 Portugal 34.234.534.234.534.033.9
 Romania 33.534.034.635.037.434.7
 Slovakia 25.725.324.226.123.724.3
 Slovenia 23.823.724.425.024.524.4
 Spain 34.034.233.734.734.634.5
 Sweden 24.424.824.925.425.227.6
 United Kingdom 33.031.330.231.632.431.5
 European Union 30.830.530.530.931.030.8
Eurozone 30.630.530.731.030.830.7
 Serbia[lower-alpha 1] ——38.038.638.238.6
 Montenegro[lower-alpha 2][53] 30.832.132.331.9——

Labour market

The EU seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.8% in August 2018.[54] The euro area unemployment rate was 8.1%.[54] Among the member states, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Czech Republic (2.5%), Germany (3.4%) and Poland (3.4%), and the highest in Spain (15.2%) and Greece (19.1% in June 2018).[54]

The following table shows the history of the unemployment rate for all European Union member states :

Unemployment rate by country (base month is March of each year)
Member state[54] 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Last available
 Austria5.04.94.74.65.45.65.65.95.75.04.8
 Belgium8.08.56.97.18.38.58.78.17.66.16.5
 Bulgaria6.39.911.212.113.011.910.08.16.45.45.2
 Croatia8.910.813.715.516.517.716.613.911.89.08.5
 Cyprus4.66.76.910.714.916.216.213.112.18.97.5
 Czech Republic5.97.76.86.97.26.55.64.03.22.22.5
 Denmark5.37.67.47.77.16.66.46.05.94.94.9
 Estonia4.311.919.214.011.19.17.96.76.45.75.3
 Finland7.68.57.97.68.18.49.29.08.87.97.6
 France8.99.39.19.510.310.210.310.19.69.29.3
 Germany7.67.36.15.45.35.14.84.33.93.53.4
 Greece9.111.616.022.727.126.926.023.822.120.119.1
 Hungary9.611.411.111.310.67.97.35.74.43.73.7
 Ireland11.113.214.315.013.612.09.88.37.05.85.6
 Italy7.68.48.010.511.912.712.411.511.510.89.7
 Latvia14.820.416.715.911.911.19.88.68.87.77.4
 Lithuania11.617.816.514.012.111.59.38.47.56.56.2
 Luxembourg5.44.64.75.15.76.06.46.45.85.35.2
 Malta6.66.96.56.56.25.95.74.94.24.33.8
 Netherlands3.95.14.85.56.97.87.06.45.13.93.9
 Poland7.910.09.49.810.69.77.86.45.13.93.4
 Portugal10.111.612.515.017.214.713.212.09.77.56.8
 Romania6.07.36.87.06.97.06.76.45.24.44.3
 Slovakia10.714.913.613.714.113.611.910.18.57.06.6
 Slovenia5.36.98.17.910.810.19.28.36.95.55.3
 Spain17.419.520.723.926.325.223.020.318.015.915.2
 Sweden7.88.87.97.58.38.07.57.26.46.26.6
 United Kingdom7.37.97.78.17.76.65.44.94.54.14.0
 European Union8.69.79.510.310.910.59.78.87.97.16.8
Index of Economic Freedom (2017)
Member state 2016[55] 2017[56]
 Austria71.272.3
 Belgium68.867.8
 Denmark75.375.1
 Finland73.474.0
 France62.563.3
 Germany73.873.8
 Greece54.055.0
 Ireland77.376.7
 Italy61.762.5
 Luxembourg73.275.9
 Netherlands73.775.8
 Portugal65.362.6
 Spain67.663.6
 Sweden72.774.9
 United Kingdom76.476.4
 Bulgaria66.867.9
 Croatia61.559.4
 Cyprus67.967.9
 Czech Republic72.573.3
 Estonia77.279.1
 Hungary66.865.8
 Latvia69.774.8
 Lithuania75.275.8
 Malta66.567.7
 Poland68.668.3
 Romania66.669.7
 Slovakia67.265.7
 Slovenia60.359.2
 European Union69.169.4
Unemployment rate by country in the EU and EFTA in March 2018.[57]
Unemployment rates in selected European countries and in the EU28 between 01/2004 and 04/2014.

Public finance

Public finance (with limits according to the Maastricht criterion)
Member state Public deficit as % of GDP (2017)
(E.U. limit : -3%)[58]		 Public debt as % of GDP (2017)
(E.U. limit : 60%)[59]		 HICP inflation rate (2016)
Max. 0.7% (as of 30 April 2016)[60]		 Long-term interest rate (03/18)
Max. 4.0% (as of 30 April 2016)[61][62]

 Austria −0.778.41.00.81
 Belgium −1.0103.11.80.87
 Bulgaria 0.925.4−1.31.05
 Croatia 0.878.0−0.62.19
 Cyprus 1.897.5−1.21.83
 Czech Republic 1.634.60.61.81
 Denmark 1.036.40.00.64
 Estonia −0.39.00.8(n/a)
 Finland −0.661.40.40.72
 France −2.697.00.30.84
 Germany 1.364.10.40.53
 Greece 0.8178.60.04.27
 Hungary −2.073.60.42.60
 Ireland −0.368.0−0.21.01
 Italy −2.3131.8−0.11.97
 Latvia −0.540.10.10.83
 Lithuania 0.539.70.70.31
 Luxembourg 1.523.00.00.68
 Malta 3.950.80.91.23
 Netherlands 1.156.70.10.63
 Poland −1.750.6−0.23.27
 Portugal −3.0125.70.61.79
 Romania −2.935.0−1.14.53
 Slovakia −1.050.9−0.50.80
 Slovenia 0.073.6−0.21.11
 Spain −3.198.3−0.31.33
 Sweden 1.340.61.10.77
 United Kingdom −1.987.70.71.45
 European Union −1.081.60.31.34
Eurozone −0.986.70.21.07

Trade

The European Union is the largest exporter in the world[63] and as of 2008 the largest importer of goods and services.[64][65] Internal trade between the member states is aided by the removal of barriers to trade such as tariffs and border controls. In the eurozone, trade is helped by not having any currency differences to deal with amongst most members.[66]

The European Union Association Agreement does something similar for a much larger range of countries, partly as a so-called soft approach ('a carrot instead of a stick') to influence the politics in those countries. The European Union represents all its members at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and acts on behalf of member states in any disputes. When the EU negotiates trade related agreement outside the WTO framework, the subsequent agreement must be approved by each individual EU member.[66]

10 largest trading partners(2016)
Main trading partners (2016)[67]
RankPartnersImports (million euro)% (of total)Exports (million euro)% (of total)Total trade (million euro)% (of total)
- European Union1,706,413100%1,745,730100%3,452,143100%
1 United States246,77414,5%362,04320,7%608,81717,6%
2 China344,64220,2%170,1369,7%514,77914,9%
3  Switzerland121,6087,1%142,4328,2%264,0407,6%
4 Russia118,6617,0%72,4284,1%191,0895,5%
5 Turkey66,6523,9%78,0304,5%144,6814,2%
6 Japan66,3833,9%58,1363,3%124,5193,6%
7 Norway62,9353,7%48,3712,8%111,3063,2%
8 South Korea41,4332,4%44,5182,6%85,9512,5%
9 India39,2652,3%37,8002,2%77,0652,2%
10 Canada29,0941,7%35,2002,0%64,2941,9%
11 Brazil29,3341,7%30,9091,8%60,2431,7%
12 United Arab Emirates9,2010,5%45,8472,6%55,0481,6%
13 Mexico19,8001,2%33,9281,9%53,7281,6%
14 Hong Kong18,2121,1%34,9892,0%53,2011,5%
15 Saudi Arabia19,0101,1%33,9251,9%52,9351,5%
16 Singapore19,4361,1%31,4231,8%50,8591,5%
17 South Africa22,8531,3%22,9861,3%45,8391,3%
18 Taiwan26,0571,5%19,6311,1%45,6881,3%
19 Australia13,0700,8%32,4371,9%45,5071,3%
20 Vietnam33,0641,0%9,3320,5%42,3961,2%
21 Algeria16,5001,0%20,9081,2%37,4081,1%
22 Malaysia22,1771,3%13,2320,8%35,4091,0%
23 Morocco13,8090,8%20,7911,2%34,5991,0%
24 Israel13,1970,8%21,1421,2%34,3391,0%
25 Thailand20,3391,2%13,5950,8%33,9341,0%
26 Ukraine13,0800,8%16,5050,9%29,5860,9%
27 Egypt6,6910,4%20,6441,2%27,3350,8%
28 Indonesia14,6180,9%10,4610,6%25,0790,7%
29 Serbia8,7240,5%11,6980,7%20,4220,6%
30 Nigeria10,9370,6%8,9610,5%19,8980,6%
Trade with partner country groupings (2012)[67]
RankPartner regionImports (million euro)% (of total)Exports (million euro)% (of total)Total trade (million euro)% (of total)
-Total EU1,791,727100%1,686,774100%3,478,501100%
-ACP99,1965,5%86,6525,1%185,8485,3%
-Andean Community17,7281,0%11,7380,7%29,4670,8%
-ASEAN100,0355,6%81,3244,8%181,3605,2%
-BRIC577,51332,2%345,19820,5%922,71126,5%
-CACM9,5460,5%5,3540,3%14,9000,4%
-EU Candidate Countries55,3863,1%89,6545,3%145,0404,2%
-CIS273,50515,3%172,64110,2%446,14612,8%
-EFTA208,73911,7%186,22211,0%394,96111,4%
-Latin America Countries109,9786,1%110,2976,5%220,2756,3%
-MEDA(Excl. EU and Turkey)73,3414,1%92,8125,5%166,1534,8%
-Mercosur49,1962,7%50,2663,0%99,4612,9%
-NAFTA255,65714,3%351,09020,8%606,74617,4%


Trade balance, EU28 (as of 2018 before Brexit)
Sources: Eurostat [ext_lt_intertrd][69]

Regional variation

Comparing the richest areas of the EU can be a difficult task. This is because the NUTS 1 & 2 regions are not homogenous, some of them being very large regions, such as NUTS-1 Hesse (21,100 km²) or NUTS-1 Île-de-France (12,011 km²), whilst other NUTS regions are much smaller, for example NUTS-1 Hamburg (755 km²) or NUTS-1 Greater London (1,580 km²). An extreme example is Finland, which is divided for historical reasons into mainland Finland with 5.3 million inhabitants and Åland, an autonomous archipelago with a population of 27,000, or about the population of a small Finnish city.

One problem with this data is that some areas, including Greater London, are subject to a large number of commuters coming into the area, thereby artificially inflating the figures. It has the effect of raising GDP but not altering the number of people living in the area, inflating the GDP per capita figure. Similar problems can be produced by a large number of tourists visiting the area. The data is used to define regions that are supported with financial aid in programs such as the European Regional Development Fund. The decision to delineate a Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) region is to a large extent arbitrary (i.e. not based on objective and uniform criteria across Europe), and is decided at European level (See also: Regions of the European Union).

NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions

The 10 NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions with the highest GDP per capita are almost all, except two, in the first fifteen-member states: Prague and Bratislava are the only ones in the 13 new member states that joined in May 2004, January 2007 and July 2013. The leading regions in the ranking of NUTS-2 regional GDP per inhabitant in 2016 were Inner London-West in the United Kingdom (611% of the average), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (257%) and Southern and Eastern Ireland (217%). Figures for these three regions, however, are artificially inflated by the commuters who do not reside in these regions ("Net commuter inflows in these regions push up production to a level that could not be achieved by the resident active population on its own. The result is that GDP per inhabitant appears to be overestimated in these regions and underestimated in regions with commuter outflows."[70]).

Another example of artificial inflation is Groningen. The calculated GDP per capita is very high because of the large natural gas reserves in this region, but Groningen is one of the poorest parts in the Netherlands. Among the 19 NUTS-2 regions exceeding the 150% level, five were in Germany, three in the United Kingdom, two in Austria, one each in Belgium, the Czech republic, Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Sweden, as well as in the single region Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The NUTS Regulation lays down a minimum population size of 3 million and a maximum size of 7 million for the average NUTS-1 region, whereas a minimum of 800,000 and a maximum of 3 million for NUTS-2 regions.¹[71] This definition, however, is not respected by Eurostat. E.g.: the région of Île-de-France, with 11.6 million inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-2 region, while the state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, with only 664,000 inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-1 region.

Source: Eurostat[70]

Among the ten lowest regions in the ranking in 2016 most were in Bulgaria, with the lowest figure recorded in Severozapaden. Among the 21 regions below the 50% level, five were in Bulgaria and Poland each, four in Hungary, three each in Romania and Greece, and one in France.[70]

Source: Eurostat[70]

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Serbia is a negotiating candidate to the EU.
  2. 1 2 Montenegro is a negotiating candidate to the EU.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 "IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2018". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
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  5. ↑ "Inflation in the euro area". ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. August 2017.
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  11. ↑ "Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  12. ↑ "Balance of payment statistics - Statistics Explained". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "International investment position statistics - Statistics Explained". ec.europa.eu.
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  16. ↑ "Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  17. ↑ Source: http://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/ODA-2015-detailed-summary.pdf; Table 1, page 6. Quote, page 3: "In 2015, total net ODA from the 28 EU member states was USD 74 billion, representing 0.47% of their GNI. Net disbursements by EU Institutions were USD 13.8 billion, a slight fall of 0.5% in real terms compared to 2014."
  18. ↑ EU Institutions $13.85 billion, EU member states $73.80 billion.[17]
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  43. ↑ "Brexit: the United-Kingdom and EU financial services" (PDF). Economic Governance Support Unit of the European Parliament. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  44. ↑ {{Cite web|url=https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/2017/december/approach-to-authorisation-and-supervision-of-international-banks-insurers-central-counterparties%7Ctitle=The Bank of England’s approach to the authorisation and supervision of international banks, insurers and central counterparties|publisher=Bank of England|access-date=2 March 2018|quote=The UK’s financial sector also brings substantial benefits to EU households and firms, allowing them to access a broad range of services efficiently and reliably.
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  66. 1 2 Se-jeong, Kim (19 July 2009). "EU-Korea FTA Will Be a Long Process: Greek Ambassador". The Korea Times. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
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  69. ↑ http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-063317_QID_-63BADB2E_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=TIME,C,X,0;GEO,L,Y,0;INDIC_ET,L,Z,0;SITC06,L,Z,1;PARTNER,L,Z,2;INDICATORS,C,Z,3;&zSelection=DS-063317INDIC_ET,MIO_BAL_VAL;DS-063317PARTNER,EXT_EU28;DS-063317INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;DS-063317SITC06,TOTAL;&rankName1=PARTNER_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=SITC06_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=INDIC-ET_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName5=TIME_1_0_0_0&rankName6=GEO_1_2_0_1&sortC=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23
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  71. ↑
  • ^ Cells shaded in green indicate forecast figure
  • ^ One region may be classified by Eurostat as a NUTS-1, NUTS-2 as well as a NUTS-3 region. Several NUTS-1 regions are also classified as NUTS-2 regions such as Brussels-Capital or Ile-de-France. Many countries are only classified as a single NUTS-1 and a single NUTS-2 region such as Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg and (although over 3 million inhabitants) Denmark.
  • "Euro-indicators News release" (PDF). June 2005 inflation data. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2005.
  • "Euro-indicators News release" (PDF). May 2005 unemployment data. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2005.
  • "World Bank". GNI data (July 2005). Retrieved 4 August 2005.

The following links are used for the GDP growth and GDP totals (IMF):

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