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Revision as of 14:12, 2 May 2013

Template:Infobox Economy of the European Union The economy of the European Union generates a GDP of over €12.894 trillion (US$16.566 trillion in 2012)[1] according to Eurostat, making it the largest economy in the world. The European Union (EU) economy consists of an Internal Market and the EU is represented as a unified entity in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Currency

Main articles: Euro and Eurozone

The official currency of the European Union is the euro used in all its documents and policies. The Stability and Growth Pact sets out the fiscal criteria to maintain for stability and (economic) convergence. The euro is also the most widely used currency in the EU, which is in use in 17 member states known as the Eurozone.

All other member states, apart from Denmark and the United Kingdom, which have special opt-outs, have committed to changing over to the euro once they have fulfilled the requirements needed to do so. 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.

Budget

Further information: Budget of the European Union

The operation of the EU has an agreed budget of €141 billion for the year 2011, and €862 billion for the period 2007–2013,[2] this represents around 1% of the EU's GDP.

Economic variation

Below is a table showing, respectively, the GDP and the GDP (PPP) per capita for the European Union and for each of its 27 member states, sorted by GDP (PPP). This can be used as a rough gauge to the relative standards of living among member states, with Luxembourg the highest and Bulgaria the lowest. Eurostat, based in Luxembourg, is the Official Statistical Office of the European Communities releasing yearly GDP figures for the member states as well as the EU as a whole, which are regularly updated, supporting this way a measure of wealth and a base for the European Union's budgetary and economic policies. Figures are stated in euro.

Member states GDP 2012
millions of
euro 		Population
in millions
 		GDP (PPP)
per capita 2011
euro 		GDP (Nominal)
per capita 2012
euro 		GDP (PPP)
per capita 2011
EU27 = 100
Eurozone
yes/no
 European Union 12,899,149 501 25,100 25,600 100%
 Germany 2,643,900 81.4 30,300 32,299 121% yes
 United Kingdom 1,901,001 62.6 27,300 30,100 109% no
 France 2,029,877 63.3 27,200 30,600(2011) 108% yes
 Italy 1,565,916 61.5 25,100 25,700 100% yes
 Spain 1,049,525 46.0 24,700 23,100(2011) 98% yes
 Netherlands 600,638 16.6 32,900 35,900 131% yes
 Sweden 408,467 9.3 31,900 42,900 127% no
 Belgium 376,840 10.8 29,900 34,100 119% yes
 Poland 381,213 38.2 16,200 9,900 64% no
 Austria 309,900 8.4 32,400 36,600 129% yes
 Denmark 244,535 5.5 31,500 43,700 125% no
 Greece 193,749(p) 11.3 20,100(p) 17,200(p) 79% yes
 Finland 194,469 5.3 28,800 35,900 114% yes
 Portugal 165,409(p) 10.6 19,500(p) 15,600(p) 77% yes
 Ireland 163,595 4.4 32,500 35,600 129% yes
 Czech Republic 152,828 10.5 20,200 14,500 80% no
 Romania 131,747 21.5 11,400(2010) 5,800(2010) 49% no
 Hungary 97,756 10.0 16,500 9,800 66% no
 Slovakia 71,463 5.4 18,400 13,200 73% yes
 Luxembourg 44,425 0.5 68,100 83,600 271% yes
 Bulgaria 39,667 7.6 11,600 5,400 46% no
 Slovenia 35,466 2.0 21,000 17,200 84% yes
 Lithuania 32,781 3.2 16,600 11,000 66% no
 Latvia 22,258 2.2 14,700 10,900 58% no
 Cyprus 17,886 0.8 23,700 20,500 94% yes
 Estonia 16,998 1.3 16,900 12,700 67% yes
 Malta 6,755 0.4 21,500 16,100 85% yes
EU Candidates GDP 2012
millions of
euro 		Population
in millions
 		GDP (PPP)
per capita 2011
euro 		GDP (Nominal)
per capita 2011
euro 		GDP (PPP)
per capita 2011
perc. of EU27
Eurozone
yes/no
 Iceland 10,627 0.3 28,000 31,600 111% no
 Croatia 43,903(p) 4.5 15,400(p) 10,500(p) 61% no
 Turkey 612,412 71.0 13,100 7,500 52% no
 Macedonia 7,707 2.0 8,700(2010) 3,400(2010) 35% no
 Montenegro 0.6 42% no
 Serbia 34,740[3] 7.3 8,800 4,686 35% no
Current EU applicants GDP 2010
millions of
euro 		Population
in millions
 		GDP (PPP)
per capita 2011
euro 		GDP (Nominal)
per capita 2009
euro 		GDP (PPP)
per capita 2011
perc. of EU27
Eurozone
yes/no
 Albania 8,975[4] 3.2 7,800(e) 2,803 30% no
 Bosnia & Herzegovina[5] 3.8 7,300 30% no
EFTA members GDP 2012
millions of
euro 		Population
in millions
 		GDP (PPP)
per capita 2011
euro 		GDP (Nominal)
per capita 2011
euro 		GDP (PPP)
per capita 2011
perc. of EU27
Eurozone
yes/no
 Norway 390,008 4.6 47,500 70,500 186% no
  Switzerland 491,987 7.7 39,500 60,800 157% no

p: provisional value
e: estimated value
Source: GDP Millions of PPS:EUROSTAT,[1] GDP(PPP) per inhabitant: EUROSTAT,[1] GDP per capita in PPS :EUROSTAT,[6] GDP per capita expressed in PPS in percentage of EU (2011): EUROSTAT[7]

Past and future GDP at market prices (millions of euro)[8][nb 1]
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
 European Union 12,397,498.0 12,466,896.5 11,752,175.4 12,256,226.4 12,649,146.5 12,957,700.3 13,381,221.5
Member states
 Austria 274,019.8 282,746.0 274,818.2 286,197.3 300,891.3 310,133.3 322,190.4
 Belgium 335,610.0 346,130.0 340,398.0 354,378.0 370,436.4 381,779.9 396,273.8
 Bulgaria 30,772.4 35,430.5 34,932.8 36,033.5 38,989.9 - -
 Cyprus 15,901.5 17,157.1 16,853.5 17,333.6 17,928.6 18,409.6 19,167.5
 Czech Republic 131,908.6 154,269.7 141,449.8 149,313.3 157,538.3 155,688.8 160,030.9
 Denmark 227,533.9 235,133.0 223,985.3 235,608.6 241,148.1 249,122.9 258,155.3
 Estonia 16,069.4 16,304.2 13,839.6 14,305.3 16,011.6 17,006.0 18,163.9
 Finland 179,830.0 185,651.0 173,267.0 180,253.0 190,257.4 198,251.5 206,115.5
 France 1,886,792.1 1,933,195.0 1,889,231.0 1,932,801.5 1,987,699.4 2,027,969.8 2,092,928.4
 Germany 2,428,500.0 2,473,800.0 2,374,500.0 2,476,800.0 2,570,000.0 2,626,427.9 2,705,181.1
 Greece 222,771.1 232,920.3 231,642.0 227,317.9 217,828.8 212,139.9 214,309.2
 Hungary 99,430.5 105,545.1 91,402.5 97,094.8 99,285.5 95,398.7 100,059.5
 Ireland 189,932.9 179,989.8 160,595.9 155,992.3 156,109.2 158,864.9 164,621.6
 Italy 1,554,198.9 1,575,143.9 1,526,790.4 1,556,028.6 1,586,209.0 1,617,154.7 1,660,133.6
 Latvia 21,026.5 22,889.8 18,521.3 17,974.8 19,605.9 20,701.6 21,888.0
 Lithuania 28,738.8 32,461.7 26,654.4 27,607.5 30,806.9 32,781.8 34,545.2
 Luxembourg 37,490.5 39,436.5 37,392.6 40,266.9 41,778.3 42,893.0 45,035.9
 Malta 5,434.3 5,814.6 5,812.7 6,154.2 6,440.0 6,690.0 7,008.3
 Netherlands 571,773.0 594,481.0 571,145.0 588,414.0 607,435.2 622,714. 639,563.6
 Poland 311,001.7 363,153.7 310,418.2 354,310.0 369,318.3 355,346.3 372,417.2
 Portugal 169,319.2 171,983.1 168,503.6 172,571.2 171,632.4 168,286.4 172,647.7
 Romania 124,728.5 139,765.4 118,196.0 124,058.9 131,527.8 136,278.1 147,800.8
 Slovakia 54,810.8 64,500.1 62,895.5 65,887.4 69,944.5 71,614.0 75,123.1
 Slovenia 34,562.3 37,279.5 35,310.6 35,415.8 36,446. 38,018.4
 Spain 1,053,161.0 1,087,749.0 1,047,831.0 1,051,342.0 1,074,940.5 1,094,290. 1,123,495.9
 Sweden 337,944.2 333,255.7 291,347.0 346,536.4 386,201.6 396,188.4 409,582.5
 United Kingdom 2,054,237.7 1,800,710.8 1,564,467.9 1,706,301.9 1,747,315.6 1,862,190.7 1,931,407.6
Candidate countries
 Croatia 43,380.4 47,760.2 45,666.1 45,899.2 46,021.6 46,781.0 48,175.2
 Macedonia 5,966.5 6,692.6 6,702.4 6,948.1 7,275.8 7,743.6 8,386.1
 Turkey 479,209.1 506,431.9 440,367.3 552,842.4 546,713.3 566,640.2 620,400.7
EFTA countries
 Iceland 14,932.4 10,303.7 8,673.7 9,494.8 10,080.4 10,713.4 11,346.1
 Norway 287,712.2 311,284.9 270,010.7 315,233.8 343,998.3 364,416.8 383,818.3
  Switzerland 317,222.0 343,346.1 354,734.9 398,877.5 477,197.4 502,272.1 521,523.8
Main economic partners
 USA 10,236,191.2 9,716,820.8 9,993,547.5 10,957,607.3 10,831,809.8 11,822,419.8 12,148,404.6
 Japan 3,197,025.7 3,308,478.8 3,613,140.2 4,122,481.1 4,285,853.3 4,735,371.4 4,785,085.4

Economies of member states

Economic performance varies from state to state. The Growth and Stability Pact governs fiscal policy with the European Union. It applies to all member states, with specific rules which apply to the eurozone members that stipulate that each state's deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP and its public debt must not exceed 60% of GDP. However, many larger members have consistently run deficits substantially in excess of 3%, and the eurozone as a whole has a debt percentage exceeding 60% (see below).

The following table shows information relating to the member states of the European Union, ordered according to the 'Size' of their economies. (NB: Were the table ordered according to 'GDP per capita' this would perhaps better reflect the strength of an individual economy. But this is not how such tables are commonly structured.) The colours denote how a member state is performing relative to the rest of the European Union, above average (green) or below average (red). The smallest and greatest values in each column are emphasised.

The data for GDP and GDP per capita (PPP) are based on the World Economic Outlook, April 2013 (International Monetary Fund).[9]

Member State
sorted by GDP 		GDP
in billions
of USD
(2012)[9] 		GDP
% of EU
(2012) 		Annual
change
 % of GDP
(2012) 		GDP
per capita
in PPP US$
(2012) 		Public Debt[10]
% of GDP
(2012) 		Deficit (-)/
Surplus (+)[10]
% of GDP
(2012) 		Inflation
% Annual[11]
(2012) 		Unemp.[12]
%
2013 M3
 European Union[13] 16,584.0 100.0 -0.3 32,021 85.3 −4.0 2.6 10.9
 Germany 3,400.6 20.5% 0.7 39,028 81.9 0.2 2.1 5.4
 France 2,608.7 15.7% 0.0 35,548 90.2 -4.8 2.2 11.0
 United Kingdom 2,440.5 14.7% 0.3 36,941 90.0 -6.3 2.8 7.8*
 Italy 2,014.1 12.1% -2.4 30,136 127.0 -3.0 3.3 11.5
 Spain 1,352.1 8.2% -1.4 30,557 84.2 -10.6 2.4 26.7*
 Netherlands 773.1 4.7% -1.0 42,194 71.2 -4.1 2.8 6.4
 Sweden 526.2 3.2% 0.8 41,191 38.2 -0.5 1.0 8.4
 Poland 487.7 2.9% 1.9 20,592 55.6 -3.9 3.7 10.7
 Belgium 484.7 2.9% -0.2 37,883 99.6 -3.9 2.6 8.2
 Austria 398.6 2.4% 0.8 42,409 73.4 -2.5 2.6 4.7
 Denmark 313.6 1.9% -0.5 37,657 45.8 -4.0 2.4 7.2
 Finland 250.1 1.5% -0.2 36,395 53.0 -1.9 3.2 8.2
 Greece 256.3 1.6% -5.7 25,346 152.7 -7.0 1.0 27.2
 Portugal 212.7 1.3% -3.2 23,385 123.6 -6.4 2.8 17.5
 Ireland 210.4 1.3% 0.9 41,921 117.6 -7.6 1.9 14.1
 Czech Republic 196.1 1.2% -1.3 27,191 45.8 -4.4 3.5 7.3
 Romania 169.4 1.0% 0.7 12,808 37.8 -2.5 3.4 6.7
 Hungary 126.9 0.8% -1.7 19,638 79.2 -1.9 5.7 11.2
 Slovakia 91.9 0.6% 2.0 24,249 52.1 -4.3 3.7 14.5
 Luxembourg 56.7 0.3% 0.3 79,785 20.8 -0.8 2.9 5.7
 Bulgaria 51.0 0.3% 0.8 14,312 18.5 -0.8 2.4 12.6
 Slovenia 45.6 0.3% -2.3 28,195 54.1 -4.0 2.8 9.9
 Lithuania 42.2 0.3% 3.7 21,615 40.7 -3.2 3.2 13.1
 Latvia 28.4 0.2% 5.6 18,255 40.7 -1.2 2.3 14.3*
 Cyprus 23.0 0.1% -2.4 27,086 85.8 -6.3 3.1 14.2
 Estonia 21.9 0.1% 3.2 21,713 10.1 -0.3 4.2 9.4*
 Malta 8.7 0.1% 0.8 27,022 72.1 -3.3 3.2 6.5

Economic growth

Population and GDP per capita of EU member states and some candidates.
GDP per capita in 2008 2009
  >30,000 €
  >25,000 €
  >20,000 €
  >15,000 €
  >10,000 €

The EU's share of Gross world product (GWP) is stable at around one fifth.[14]

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 2005–2011 among all countries of the European Union (See Tatra Tiger). Notably the Baltic states have achieved massive 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-2000's recession).

Reasons for this massive growth include government commitments to stable monetary policy, export-oriented trade policies, low flat-tax rates and the utilisation of relatively cheap labour. For the last year (2011), Estonia had the highest GDP growth from all the states in EU (7,6%). 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 EU27 GDP is on the increase, the percentage of Gross world product is decreasing due to the emergence of economic powers such as China, India and Brazil. In the medium to long term, the EU will be looking forward to increase GDP growth in Italy and the UK to stabilise growth in European Union states. This is to ensure sustained economic prosperity.

Template:Multicol

EU Member States GDP growth rates[15]
Member State 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2005 – 2012
 Austria 2.4 3.7 3.7 1.4 −3.8 2.1 2.7 0.8 9,5
 Belgium 1.7 2.7 2.9 1.0 −2.8 2.4 1.8 −0.2 9,8
 Bulgaria 6.4 6.5 6.4 6.2 −5.5 0.4 1.8 0.8 24,5
 Cyprus 3.9 4.1 5.1 3.6 −1.9 1.3 0.5 −2.4 14,7
 Czech Republic 6.8 7.0 5.7 3.1 −4.5 2.5 1.9 −1.3 22,6
 Denmark 2.4 3.4 1.6 −0.8 −5.7 1.6 1.1 −0.5 3,0
 Estonia 8.9 10.1 7.5 -4.2 −14.1 3.3 8.3 3.2 22,5
 Finland 2.9 4.4 5.3 0.3 −8.5 3.3 2.8 −0.2 10,0
 France 1.9 2.7 2.3 −0.1 −3.1 1.7 1.7 0.0 7,2
 Germany 0.7 3.7 3.3 1.1 −5.1 4.2 3.0 0.7 11,6
 Greece 2.3 5.5 3.5 −0.2 −3.1 -4.9 -7.1 -5.7 -9.9
 Hungary 4.0 3.9 0.1 0.9 −6.8 1.3 1.6 −1.7 2,9
 Ireland 5.9 5.4 5.4 −2.1 −5.5 −0.8 1.4 0.9 10,2
 Italy 0.9 2.2 1.7 −1.2 −5.5 1.8 0.4 −2.4 -1,3
 Latvia 10.1 11.2 9.6 −3.3 -17.7 −0.9 5.5 5.6 17,9
 Lithuania 7.8 7.8 9.8 2.9 −14.8 1.5 5.9 3.7 24,6
 Luxembourg 5.3 4.9 6.6 −0.7 −4.1 2.9 1.7 0.3 17,6
 Malta 3.6 2.6 4.1 3.9 −2.6 2.9 1.7 0.8 17,8
 Netherlands 2.0 3.4 3.9 1.8 −3.7 1.6 1.0 −1.0 9,2
 Poland 3.6 6.2 6.8 5.1 1.6 3.9 4.3 1.9 38,7
 Portugal 0.8 1.4 2.4 0.0 −2.9 1.9 −1.6 −3.2 -1,4
 Romania 4.2 7.9 6.3 7.3 −6.6 −1.1 2.2 0.7 21,4
 Spain 3.6 4.1 3.5 0.9 −3.7 −0.3 0.4 −1.4 7,0
 Slovakia 6.7 8.3 10.5 5.8 −4.9 4.4 3.2 2.0 41,2
 Slovenia 4.0 5.8 7.0 3.4 −7.8 1.2 0.6 −2.3 20,1
 Sweden 3.2 4.3 3.3 −0.6 −5.0 6.6 3.7 0.8 17,0
 United Kingdom 2.8 2.6 3.6 −1.0 −4.0 1.8 1.0 0.3 6,9
 European Union 2.1 3.3 3.2 0.3 −4.3 2.1 1.5 −0.3 8,0
Eurozone 1.7 3.2 3.0 0.4 −4.4 2.0 1.4 −0.6 6,7

Energy resources

Main article: Energy policy of the European Union

The European Union has large coal, oil, and natural gas reserves. There are six oil producers in the European Union, primarily in North Sea oilfields. The United Kingdom by far is the largest producer, however 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 seventh largest producer of oil in the world, producing 3,424,000 (2001) barrels a day.

It is also the world's second largest consumer of oil, consuming much more than it can produce, at 14,590,000 (2001) 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.

see also: Renewable energy in the European Union and Category:Energy in the European Union

Trade

Further information: List of the largest trading partners of the European Union
  EU
  Top 10 trading partners (2010)
  Top 11–20 trading partners (2010)
EU imports, exports and balance of trade in goods from 2007 to 2012 (in billions of euro)
EU current account(quarterly data ) in millions of euro.

The European Union is the largest exporter in the world[16] and as of 2008 the largest importer of goods and services.[17] 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.[18]

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.[18]

Main trading partners(2012)[19]
Rank Partners Imports (million euro) % (of total) Exports (million euro) % (of total) Total trade (million euro) % (of total)
- Total EU 1,791,727 100% 1,686,774 100% 3,478,501 100%
1  United States 205,778 11.5% 291,880 17.3% 497,658 14,3%
2  China 289,915 16,2% 143,874 8,5% 433,789 12,5%
3  Russia 213,212 11,9% 123,262 7,3% 336,474 9,7%
4   Switzerland 104,544 5.8% 133,341 7.9% 237,885 6,8%
5  Norway 100,437 5,6% 49,821 3.0% 150,258 4,3%
6  Turkey 47,789 2,7% 75,172 4,5% 122,961 3,5%
7  Japan 63,813 3.6% 55,490 3,3% 119,303 3,4%
8  Brazil 37,090 2,1% 39,595 2,3% 76,685 2,2%
9  India 37,295 2.1% 38,468 2,3% 75,764 2.2%
10  South Korea 37,861 2,1% 37,763 2,2% 75,624 2,2%
11  Saudi Arabia 34,594 1.9% 29,985 1,8% 64,580 1,9%
12  Canada 30,514 1,5% 31,291 1,9% 61,805 1,8%
13  Algeria 32,597 1,8% 21,008 1,2% 53,605 1,5%
14  Singapore 21,517 1,2% 30,342 1,8% 51,859 1,5%
15  Australia 14,479 0,8% 33,845 2,0% 48,324 1,4%
16  Mexico 19,364 1,1% 27,920 1,7% 47,284 1,4%
17  South Africa 20,545 1,1% 26,622 1,6% 47,167 1,4%
18  United Arab Emirates 8,294 0,5% 37,119 2,2% 45,413 1,3%
19  Nigeria 32,937 1,8% 11,444 0,7% 44,382 1,3%
20  Hong Kong 10,546 0,6% 33,655 2,2% 44,201 1,3%
21  Libya 32,771 1,8% 6,375 0,4% 39,145 1,1%
22  Ukraine 14,588 0,8% 23,795 1,4% 38,383 1,1%
23  Taiwan 22,524 1,3% 15,797 0,9% 38,321 1,1%
24  Malaysia 20,342 1.1% 14,530 0,9% 34,872 1,0%
25  Thailand 16,924 0,9% 14,799 0,9% 31,723 0,9%
26  Kazakhstan 24,413 1,4% 6,912 0,4% 31,325 0,9%
27  Israel 12,634 0,7% 17,023 1,0% 29,657 0,9%
28  Morocco 9,134 0,5% 16,938 1,0% 26,072 0,7%
29  Indonesia 15,396 0,9% 9,648 0,6% 25,044 0,7%
30  Egypt 8,461 0,5% 15,413 0,9% 23,874 0,7%
31  Vietnam 18,514 1,0% 5,351 0,3% 23,865 0,7%
32  Tunisia 9,515 0,5% 11,083 0,7% 20,599 0,6%
33  Argentina 9,926 0,6% 8,558 0,5% 18,483 0,5%
34  Chile 9,634 0,5% 8,486 0,5% 18,120 0,5%
35  Iraq 12,758 0,7% 4,653 0,3% 17,412 0,5%
36  Azerbaijan 13,852 0,8% 2,945 0,2% 16,796 0,5%
37  Croatia 5,471 0,3% 11,194 0,7% 16,664 0,5%
38  Qatar 10,151 0,6% 5,965 0,4% 16,115 0,5%
39  Colombia 8,591 0,5% 5,542 0,3% 14,133 0,4%
40  Serbia 4,712 0,3% 9,117 0,5% 13,829 0,4%
41  Angola 7,095 0,4% 6,200 0,4% 13,296 0,4%
42  Iran 5,527 0,3% 7,356 0,4% 12,883 0,4%
43  Belarus 4,542 0,3% 7,839 0,5% 12,382 0,4%
44  Venezuela 4,510 0,3% 6,533 0,4% 11,043 0,3%
45  Bangladesh 9,212 0,5% 1,533 0,1% 10,745 0,3%
46  Kuwait 5,864 0,3% 4,532 0,3% Kuwait 0,3%
47  Philippines 5,128 0,3% 4,791 0,3% 9,919 0,3%
48  Gibraltar 578 0,0% 9,233 0,5% 9,810 0,3%
49  Peru 6,294 0,4% 3,478 0,2% 9,772 0,3%
50  Pakistan 4,073 0,2% 4,101 0,2% 8,174 0,2%
Trade with partner country groupings(2012)[19]
Rank Partner region Imports (million euro) % (of total) Exports (million euro) % (of total) Total trade (million euro) % (of total)
- Total EU 1,791,727 100% 1,686,774 100% 3,478,501 100%
- ACP 99,196 5,5% 86,652 5,1% 185,848 5,3%
- Andean Community 17,728 1,0% 11,738 0,7% 29,467 0,8%
- ASEAN 100,035 5,6% 81,324 4,8% 181,360 5,2%
- BRIC 577,513 32,2% 345,198 20,5% 922,711 26,5%
- CACM 9,546 0,5% 5,354 0,3% 14,900 0,4%
- EU Candidate Countries 55,386 3,1% 89,654 5,3% 145,040 4,2%
- CIS 273,505 15,3% 172,641 10,2% 446,1460 12,8%
- EFTA 208,739 11,7% 186,222 11,0% 394,961 11,4%
- Latin America Countries 109,978 6,1% 110,297 6,5% 220,275 6,3%
- MEDA(Excl. EU and Turkey) 73,341 4,1% 92,812 5,5% 166,153 4,8%
- Mercosur 49,196 2,7% 50,266 3,0% 99,461 2,9%
- NAFTA 255,657 14,3% 351,090 20,8% 606,746 17,4%

Unemployment

Unemployment rate by country in the EU-27 in March 2009
Unemployment rates in Europe's major economies.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union (EU27) in March 2009 was 8.3% compared to 6.7% in March 2008. The Eurozone (EA16) unemployment figure for January 2009 was 8.2% compared to 7.3% in January 2008.[21] The unemployment rate (EU25) had previously declined in prior years from 8.9% in March 2005 to 8.4% in March 2006 to 7.3% in March 2007.[22]

The rate varies widely by member state. There has been a steep upturn in the unemployment rate since 2008 due to the worldwide credit crunch and following recession. The countries within the EU which were most affected were Spain, Ireland and the Baltic countries with the unemployment rate doubling or in case of the Baltic countries nearly tripling. By comparison in March 2009 the United States had an unemployment rate of 8.6% (2008: 5.1; 2007: 4.4; 2006: 4.7) which was higher than the EU-27's unemployment rate but lower than the EU-16 Eurozone rate of 8.9%. Japan's unemployment rate remained comparatively steady at 4.4% (2008: 3.9; 2007: 4.0; 2006: 4.1).[22][23][24] The following tables show the current unemployment rate of all Member States for March 2009 with comparisons to March 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 and comparisons to the United States and Japan:

Industries

The services sector is by far the most important sector in the European Union, making up 69.4% of GDP, compared to the manufacturing industry with 28.4% of GDP and agriculture with only 2.3% of GDP.

Agriculture

The agricultural sector is supported by subsidies from the European Union in the form of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This currently represents 40–50% of the EU's total spending. It guarantees 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 third 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 benefactor of the CAP and the bloc's second largest economy, is its most vocal proponent.

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 for the citizens of some EU member states 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 and the United Kingdom at 2nd, fifth and sixth spots respectively. It is worth noting however 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 and the highest in tourism receipts, before Paris.[25]

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; Airbus, which is the world's largest aircraft manufacturer;[26] Air France-KLM, which is the largest airline company in the world in terms of total operating revenues; 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 is 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 Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, BMW group as well as volume manufacturers such as Fiat, PSA group and Renault.

Gini index

Further information: Gini coefficient

To date, one of the most commonly used measures of income inequality is the Gini index. The Gini coefficient measures income inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. On this scale 0 represents perfect equality with everyone having exactly the same income and 1 represents perfect inequality with one person having all income. According to the UN (UN), Gini index ratings for countries range from 0.247 in Denmark to 0.743 in Namibia. Most post-industrial nations had a Gini coefficient in the range 0.25 to 0.40. In 2005 the Gini index for the EU was estimated at 0.31[27] and as a comparison the USA had 0.463.[28]

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).

Top 10: economically strongest NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions

See also: List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita, List of metropolitan areas in the European Union by GDP, and First level NUTS of the European Union

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 12 new member states that joined in May 2004 and January 2007.[29] The leading regions in the ranking of NUTS-2 regional GDP per inhabitant in 2008 were Inner London in the United Kingdom (343% of the average), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (279%) and Bruxelles/Brussels in Belgium (216%). 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."[30]).

Another example of artificial inflation is Groningen. The calculated GDP per capita is very high due to the large natural gas reserves in this region. However, Groningen is in fact one of the poorest parts in the Netherlands. Among the 40 NUTS-2 regions exceeding the 125% level, ten were in Germany, five in the Netherlands, four each in Austria and United Kingdom, three each in Spain and Italy, two each in Belgium and Finland, one each in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, France, Slovakia and Sweden, as well as the 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 [3]. 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[30]

Economically weakest NUTS-2 regions

The twenty lowest regions in the ranking in 2008 were all in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, with the lowest figures recorded in Severozapaden in Bulgaria (27% of the average), followed by Nord-Est (29%) in Romania, Severen tsentralen in Bulgaria (29%) and Yuzhen tsentralen in Bulgaria (31%). Among the 64 regions below the 75% level, fifteen were in Poland, seven each in the Czech republic and Romania, six each in Bulgaria and Hungary, four each in Italy and Portugal, three each in Greece, France (all overseas departments) and Slovakia, two in the United Kingdom, one in Spain, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.[29]

Source: Eurostat[30]

Richest & Poorest NUTS Regions (GDP PPP 2010)

Source: Eurostat[30]

See also

Template:Wikipedia books

References

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  2. ^ "EU budget at a glance". Europa, EU information website. Retrieved 6 November 2007.
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  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ BiH Application
  6. ^ "Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". Epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  7. ^ "GDP per capita in the Member States ranged from 46% to 271% of the EU27 average in 2011" (PDF). 20 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  8. ^ GDP at market prices
  9. ^ a b "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". International Monetary Fund. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  10. ^ a b "General government gross debt" (PDF). Eurostat. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Annual Inflation".
  12. ^ "Unemployment in the EU".
  13. ^ "Report for Selected Country Groups and Subjects". International Monetary Fund. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  14. ^ "2020_REPORT" (PDF). Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  15. ^ "Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table". Epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  16. ^ "Central Intelligence Agency". Cia.gov. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  17. ^ "World trade report 2009" (PDF). WTO information website.
  18. ^ a b Se-jeong, Kim (19 July 2009). "EU-Korea FTA Will Be a Long Process: Greek Ambassador". The Korea Times. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  19. ^ a b EU top trading partners
  20. ^ Extra-EU27 trade, by main partners, total product
  21. ^ "Euro Area unemployment up to 8.2%" (PDF).
  22. ^ a b "Euro area unemployment down – 2006" (PDF).
  23. ^ "Unemployment in the EU".
  24. ^ "Taux De Chomage Desaisonnalises" (PDF). Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  25. ^ http://newsroom.mastercard.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/MasterCard_Global_Destination_Cities_Index_2012.pdf
  26. ^ "Airbus beats Boeing in 2010". News.ninemsn.com.au. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  27. ^ "Eurofound: Monitoring quality of life in Europe – Gini index". Europa (web portal). 26 August 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  28. ^ DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica Smith (August 2008). "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 13 November 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ a b Eurostat (24 February 2011). "Regional GDP per inhabitant in 2008" (PDF). Europa web portal. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  30. ^ a b c d Eurostat (21 March 2013). "Regional GDP per capita in the EU in 2010: eight capital regions in the ten first places" (PDF). Europa web portal. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  • ^ 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. Retrieved 18 July 2005.
  • "Euro-indicators News release" (PDF). May 2005 unemployment data. 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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