Economy of the European Union 1598533 226130640 2008-07-16T23:17:45Z 83.36.215.51 /* Economic variation */ {{Infobox Economy of the European Union}} The '''economy of the [[European Union]]''' combines the economies of 27 member states and is generating an estimated nominal [[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]] of [[€]]11.9 trillion in 2008 according to the [[IMF]]. It accounts for about 31% of the world's total economic output. Fifteen member states adopted a single currency, the [[euro]], managed by the [[European Central Bank]]. The EU economy consists of a single market and is represented as a unified entity in the [[WTO]]. ==Currency== {{main|Euro|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 15 [[Member states of the European Union|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 - although [[Sweden]] also has an effective 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== {{see|Budget of the European Union}} The operation of the EU has an agreed budget of €116 billion for the year 2007, and €862 billion for the period 2007-2013,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/budget/budget_glance/where_from_en.htm| title=EU budget at a glance|publisher=Europa, EU information website|accessdate=2007-11-06}}</ref> this represent around 1% of the EU's [[GDP]]. By comparison, the UK expenditure for 2004 alone was estimated at about €759 billion and France was estimated at about €801 billion. In 1960, the then "EU" ([[EEC]]) budget was 0.03% of GDP. [http://www.euro-know.org/articles/wew.html] ==Economic variation== Below is a table showing, respectively, the [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] ([[Purchasing power parity|PPP]]) and the GDP (PPP) per capita for the European Union and for each of its 27 member states, sorted by GDP (PPP) per capita. This can be used as a rough gauge to the relative standards of living among member states, with Luxembourg and Ireland the highest; Romania 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. All data for 2007 are projections. These are the official Eurostat figures, as of [[21 April]] [[2007]]. [[Image:655px-European Union GDP per capita w text.png|thumb|right|225px|GDP (PPP) per capita 2006<br/><small> {{legend2|#004700|>$30,000}} {{legend2|#006200|>$25,000}} {{legend2|#008a00|>$20,000}} {{legend2|#00b600|>$15,000}} {{legend2|#00ff00|>$10,000}}</small>]] {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;" ! scope="col" | [[Member States]] ! scope="col" | GDP (PPP) 2007<br><small>millions of<br>[[euro]]</small> ! scope="col" | GDP (PPP)<br>per capita 2007<br><small>euro</small> ! scope="col" | Percentage of EU27<br>average GDP<br>(PPP) per capita 2007 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | '''{{flag|European Union}}''' | ''12,172,536'' | ''24,800'' | ''100%'' |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 1 {{flag|Germany}} € | 2,309,810 | 28,100 | 113% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 2 {{flag|United Kingdom}} | 1,847,105 | 28,800 | 116% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 3 {{flag|France}} € | 1,744,444 | 27,600 | 111% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 4 {{flag|Italy}} € | 1,500,475 | 25,200 | 101% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 5 {{flag|Spain}} € | 1,189,174 | 26,500 | 107% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 6 {{flag|Netherlands}} € | 530,564 | 32,500 | 131% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 7 {{flag|Poland}} | 515.608 | 13,300 | 54% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 8 {{flag|Belgium}} € | 319,867 | 29,300 | 118% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 9 {{flag|Sweden}} | 274,499 | 30,300 | 126% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 10 {{flag|Austria}} € | 264,472 | 31,800 | 128% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 11 {{flag|Greece}} € | 271,206 | 24,300 | 98% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 12 {{flag|Romania}} | 217,012 | 10,100 | 41% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 13 {{flag|Czech Republic}} | 209,773 | 20,300 | 82% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 14 {{flag|Portugal}} € | 194,502 | 18,500 | 75% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 15 {{flag|Denmark}} | 171,298 | 30,500 | 123% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 16 {{flag|Hungary}} | 158,304 | 15,700 | 63% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 17 {{flag|Republic of Ireland|name=Ireland}} € | 157,070 | 36,300 | 146% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 18 {{flag|Finland}} € | 155,640 | 28,800 | 116% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 19 {{flag|Slovakia}} | 91,772 | 17,000 | 69% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 20 {{flag|Bulgaria}} | 76,400 | 10,000 | 38% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 21 {{flag|Lithuania}} | 50,515 | 15,000 | 60% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 22 {{flag|Slovenia}} € | 44,429 | 22,000 | 89% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 23 {{flag|Latvia}} | 32,802 | 14,400 | 58% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 24 {{flag|Luxembourg}} € | 31,376 | 68,500 | 276% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 25 {{flag|Estonia}} | 24,005 | 17,900 | 72% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 26 {{flag|Cyprus}} € | 18,109 | 23,000 | 93% |- ! scope="row" style="text-align: left; font-weight: normal;" | 27 {{flag|Malta}} € | 7,824 | 19,100 | 77% |- |} <small>Source:GDP(PPP): [[EUROSTAT]] [http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46870091&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_product_code=DAA10000]</small><br> <small>PERCENTAGES: [[EUROSTAT]]([http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46870091&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&p_product_code=EB011]).</small> ==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). With the exception of [[Portugal]], all countries with below [[average]] [[Gross National Income|GNI]] per capita are those which joined the EU in May [[2004]] and all countries with above average GNI per capita come from the existing (pre-[[2004]]) member states.{{Fact|date=April 2008}} 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, Annual change of GDP, GDP per capita and inflation are [[IMF]] estimates made in May 2008. [http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=122%2C136%2C124%2C137%2C423%2C181%2C172%2C138%2C132%2C182%2C134%2C961%2C174%2C184%2C178&s=NGDPD%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a=&pr.x=41&pr.y=22]& [http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=914%2C946%2C963%2C962%2C918%2C943%2C960%2C964%2C935%2C968%2C939%2C942%2C944%2C936%2C941%2C186&s=NGDPD%2CPPPPC&grp=0&a=&pr.x=23&pr.y=8] {| class="wikitable sortable" |- style="background:#dfdfdf; text-align:center;" ! Member State <br /><small>sorted by [[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]]</small> ! [[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]] <br /> <small>in [[1000000000 (number)|billion]]s <br /> of [[United States dollar|US $]] <br /> <small>(2008)</small> ! GDP <br /> <small>% of EU </br /><small>(2008)<small> ! Annual <br/> change <br/> <small> % of GDP <small> ! GDP <br /> per capita <br /> <small>in [[Purchasing power parity|PPP]] US$ <br /> <small>(2008) </small> ! Public Debt<ref name="eurostat deficit">{{web cite|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PGP_PRD_CAT_PREREL/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2008/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2008_MONTH_04/2-18042008-EN-AP.PDF|format=PDF|title=Euro area and EU27 government deficit at 0.6% and 0.9% of GDP respectively|publisher=[[Eurostat]]|date=2008-04-18|accessdate=2008-04-18}}</ref> <br /> <small>% of GDP <br /> (2007)</small> ! Deficit (-)/<br />Surplus (+)<ref name="eurostat deficit"/><br /> <small>% of GDP<br /> (2007) </small> ! Inflation<br /> <small>% Annual <br /> (2007)</small> ! Unemp.<ref name="eurostat2008"/><br /> <small>% <br /> (May 2008) </small> |- style="background:#efefef" align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|European Union}} </small>[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/01/data/weorept.aspx?sy=2007&ey=2007&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=998&s=NGDP_RPCH%2CNGDPD%2CPPPWGT%2CPCPIPCH&grp=1&a=1&pr1.x=93&pr1.y=9] </small> | 18,493.0 || 100.0% || 2.8 | ''29 342'' ||58.7 ||-0.9 ||2.2 ||6.8 |- ! align="left" "centre"|{{flag|Germany}} | 3,653.3 || 19.8% |style="background:#eaa"| '''1.8''' |style="background:#ada"| 35,392 |style="background:#eaa"| 65.0 |style="background:#ada"| 0.0 |style="background:#ada"| 2.0 |style="background:#eaa"| 7.4 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|France}} | 2,843.1 || 15.4% |style="background:#eaa"| 2.0 |style="background:#ada"| 34,140 |style="background:#eaa"| 64.2 |style="background:#eaa"| -2.7 |style="background:#ada"| 1.7 |style="background:#eaa"| 7.4 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|United Kingdom}} | 2,833.2 || 15.3% |style="background:#ada"| 2.9 |style="background:#ada"| 36,315 |style="background:#ada"| 43.8 |style="background:#eaa"| -2.9 |style="background:#eaa"| 2.3 |style="background:#ada"| 5.2 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Italy}} | 2,330.0 || 12.6% |style="background:#eaa"| '''1.8''' |style="background:#ada"| 31,022 |style="background:#eaa"| '''104.0''' |style="background:#eaa"| -1.9 |style="background:#ada"| 2.1 |style="background:#ada"| 6.5 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Spain}} | 1,622.5 || 8.8% |style="background:#ada"| 3.8 |style="background:#ada"| 30,765 |style="background:#ada"| 36.2 |style="background:#ada"| 2.2 |style="background:#eaa"| 2.6 |style="background:#eaa"| 9.9 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Netherlands}} | 862.9 || 4.7% |style="background:#ada"| 2.9 |style="background:#ada"| 39,892 |style="background:#ada"| 45.4 |style="background:#ada"| 0.4 |style="background:#ada"| 1.8 |style="background:#ada"| 2.9 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Belgium}} | 507.1 || 2.7% |style="background:#eaa"| 2.2 |style="background:#ada"| 36,215 |style="background:#eaa"| 84.9 |style="background:#ada"| -0.2 |style="background:#ada"| 1.9 |style="background:#ada"| 6.7 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Sweden}} | 502.5 || 2.7% |style="background:#ada"| 3.3 |style="background:#ada"| 37,762 |style="background:#ada"| 40.6 |style="background:#ada"| 3.5 |style="background:#ada"| 1.8 |style="background:#ada"| 5.2 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Poland}} | 450.6 || 2.4% |style="background:#ada"| 6.5 |style="background:#eaa"| 17,493 |style="background:#ada"| 45.2 |style="background:#eaa"| -2.0 |style="background:#ada"| 2.2 |style="background:#eaa"| 7.5 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Austria}} | 418.7 || 2.3% |style="background:#ada"| 2.8 |style="background:#ada"| 39,847 |style="background:#eaa"| 59.1 |style="background:#ada"| -0.5 |style="background:#ada"| 1.6 |style="background:#ada"| 4.1 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Greece}} | 361.6 || 2.0% |style="background:#ada"| 3.8 |style="background:#ada"| 30,745 |style="background:#eaa"| 94.5 |style="background:#eaa"| -2.8 |style="background:#eaa"| 3.2 |style="background:#eaa"| 7.8 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Denmark}} | 349.2 || 1.9% |style="background:#eaa"| 2.5 |style="background:#ada"| 38,864 |style="background:#ada"| 26.0 |style="background:#ada"| 4.4 |style="background:#ada"| 2.0 |style="background:#ada"| '''2.7''' |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Republic of Ireland|name=Ireland}} | 290.7 || 1.6% |style="background:#ada"| 5.0 |style="background:#ada"| 44,415 |style="background:#ada"| 25.4 |style="background:#ada"| 0.3 |style="background:#eaa"| 2.4 |style="background:#ada"| 6.0 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Finland}} | 273.1 || 1.5% |style="background:#ada"| 3.1 |style="background:#ada"| 36,777 |style="background:#ada"| 35.4 |style="background:#ada"| '''5.3''' |style="background:#ada"| '''1.5''' |style="background:#ada"| 6.1 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Portugal}} | 248.9 || 1.3% |style="background:#eaa"| '''1.8''' |style="background:#eaa"| 22,357 |style="background:#eaa"| 63.6 |style="background:#eaa"| -2.6 |style="background:#eaa"| 2.5 |style="background:#eaa"| 7.5 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Czech Republic}} | 211.7 || 1.1% |style="background:#ada"| 4.8 | style="background:#eaa"| 25,765 |style="background:#ada"| 28.7 |style="background:#eaa"| -1.6 |style="background:#eaa"| 2.9 |style="background:#ada"| 4.4 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Romania}} | 187.9 || 1.0% |style="background:#ada"| 6.5 |style="background:#eaa"| 12,285 |style="background:#ada"| 13.0 |style="background:#eaa"| -2.5 |style="background:#eaa"| 4.5 |style="background:#ada"| 6.0 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Hungary}} | 155.2 || 0.8% |style="background:#ada"| 2.8 |style="background:#eaa"| 19,799 |style="background:#eaa"| 66.0 |style="background:#eaa"| '''-5.5 ''' |style="background:#eaa"| 6.4 |style="background:#eaa"| 7.6 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Slovakia}} | 88.9|| 0.5% |style="background:#ada"| 8.2 |style="background:#eaa"| 22,024 |style="background:#ada"| 29.4 |style="background:#eaa"| -2.2 |style="background:#eaa"| 2.4 |style="background:#eaa"| '''10.5''' |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Luxembourg}} | 57.0 || 0.3% |style="background:#ada"| 4.6 |style="background:#ada"| '''83,456''' |style="background:#ada"| 6.8 |style="background:#ada"| 2.9 |style="background:#ada"| 2.1 |style="background:#ada"| 4.2 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Slovenia}} | 53.3|| 0.3% |style="background:#ada"| 4.5 |style="background:#eaa"| 28,848 |style="background:#ada"| 24.1 |style="background:#ada"| -0.1 |style="background:#eaa"| 2.7 |style="background:#ada"| 4.3 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Bulgaria}} | 49.3 || 0.3% |style="background:#ada"| 6.0 |style="background:#eaa"| '''12,252''' |style="background:#ada"| 18.2 |style="background:#ada"| 3.4 |style="background:#eaa"| 5.3 |style="background:#ada"| 5.7 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Lithuania}} | 48.1 || 0.3% |style="background:#ada"| 7.0 |style="background:#eaa"| 19,216 |style="background:#ada"| 17.3 |style="background:#eaa"| -1.2 |style="background:#eaa"| 3.5 |style="background:#ada"| 4.3 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Latvia}} | 35.8 || 0.2% |style="background:#ada"| '''10.5''' |style="background:#eaa"| 18,496 |style="background:#ada"| 9.7 |style="background:#ada"| 0.0 |style="background:#eaa"| '''7.3''' |style="background:#ada"| 5.6 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Estonia}} | 25.4 || 0.1% |style="background:#ada"| 9.9 |style="background:#eaa"| 22,205 |style="background:#ada"| '''3.4''' |style="background:#ada"| 2.8 |style="background:#eaa"| 4.8 |style="background:#ada"| 4.1 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Cyprus}} | 24.5 || 0.1% |style="background:#ada"| 3.9 |style="background:#eaa"| 28,673 |style="background:#eaa"| 59.8 |style="background:#ada"| 3.3 |style="background:#ada"| 2.1 |style="background:#ada"| 3.5 |- ! align="left"|{{flag|Malta}} | 8.4 || 0.1% |style="background:#eaa"| 2.3 |style="background:#eaa"| 23,663 |style="background:#eaa"| 62.6 |style="background:#eaa"| -1.8 |style="background:#eaa"| 2.4 |style="background:#ada"| 5.8 |} A special mention should be made on official figures from the French government ministry of finance("Bercy" and "Agence France Tresor". According to respected public individuals (ex: M Pebereau, head of BNP and MP Charles de Courson, expert on finance),{{Fact|date=June 2008}} the real French public debt is grossly underreported by French officials. The official figures of 1,200 Billion in public debt (state and others) should be closer to 2.000 Billions. This figure would make France the world most indebted country in relation with its private GDP (as opposed to total GDP which includes private & public GDP). M de Courson going as far as saying that public figures are "cooked" by the ministry through "deconsolidation" of deficit budget chapters.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} These suspicions are enhanced by the January 08 announcements from Agence France Tresor that, through 2008, they would call on the market for a surprising € 150 Billion ($ 230 billion) in new borrowings due to unfunded final payments on previous loans. Additionally, French official figures do not add up with previous budget deficits as well as deficit figures reported by the British government showing figures close to French figures while France suffers from much larger public expenses. French figures should be significantly worse than British figures considered as reliable.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} ==Economic growth== The EU's share of [[Gross world product]] (GWP) is stable at around one fifth [http://graphics.eiu.com/files/ad_pdfs/eiuForesight2020_WP.pdf]. GDP growth, though strong in the new member states, is being affected by sluggish growth in [[France]], [[Italy]] and [[Portugal]]. [[Estonia]] and [[Latvia]], also referred<ref>[http://www.scanbalt.org/sw10885.asp ScanBalt: The Baltic Tigers] - an end in sight for the growth story?</ref> to as the [[Baltic Tigers]], have the highest GDP growth rates in the union and one of the highest in the world. [[Image:EU-GDP-Population.svg|thumb|right|Population and GDP per capita of EU member states and some candidates.]] [[Image:EU-GDP-PPP-pc-map.png|thumb|right|GDP (PPP) per capita 2007 showing countries above and below EU-27 average]] {| class="wikitable" |- | width="50%" align="center" | '''[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2005&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=137%2C122%2C124%2C138%2C182%2C128%2C184%2C172%2C132%2C134%2C174%2C144%2C178%2C136%2C112&s=NGDP_RPCH&grp=0&a=&pr.x=97&pr.y=8] EU15 GDP growth rates''' | width="50%%" align="center" | '''[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/02/data/weorept.aspx?pr.x=68&pr.y=9&sy=2004&ey=2006&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=946%2C181%2C918%2C964%2C968%2C423%2C935%2C936%2C961%2C939%2C944%2C941&s=NGDP_RPCH&grp=0&a=] New member GDP growth rates''' |- valign="top" align="center" | {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! rowspan=2 | Member State ! colspan=4 | % GDP Growth [http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1996,39140985&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&screen=detailref&language=en&product=EU_economy_finance&root=EU_economy_finance/economy/main/overview/yearlies/B1/B11/eb012] |- style="background:#efefef;" ! <small>2005 </small> ! <small>2006 </small> ! <small>2007 </small> ! <small>2008 </small> |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Austria}} | 2.0 || 3.3 || 3.3 || 2.5 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Belgium}} | 1.4 || 3.0 || 2.6 || 1.9 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Denmark}} | 3.1 || 3.5 || 1.9 || 1.5 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Finland}} | 2.9 || 5.0 || 4.3 || 3.0 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|France}} | 1.7 || 2.0 || 1.9 || 2.0 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Germany}} | 0.8 || 2.9 || 2.4 || 2.0 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Greece}} | 3.7 || 4.3 || 3.9 || 3.6 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Republic of Ireland|name=Ireland}} | 5.9 || 5.7 || 4.6 || 3.0 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Italy}} | 0.1 || 1.9 || 1.7 || 1.3 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Luxembourg}} | 4.0 || 6.2 || 5.4 || 4.2 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Netherlands}} | 1.5 || 3.0 || 3.5 || 2.6 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Portugal}} | 0.5 || 1.3 || 1.8 || 1.8 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Spain}} | 3.6 || 3.9 || 3.7 || 2.7 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Sweden}} | 2.9 || 4.2 || 3.6 || 2.8 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|United Kingdom}} | 1.8 || 2.8 || 3.1 || 2.3 |- align="right" |} | {| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! rowspan=2 | Member State ! colspan=4 | % GDP Growth |- style="background:#efefef;" ! <small>2004 </small> ! <small>2005 </small> ! <small>2006 </small> ! <small>2007 </small> |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Bulgaria}} | 5.7 || 5.5 || 5.6 || 6.1 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Cyprus}} | 3.9 || 3.7 || 3.5 || 3.8 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Czech Republic}} | 4.2 || 6.1 || 6.0 || 4.9 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Estonia}} | 7.8 || 9.8 || 9.5 || 8.7 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Hungary}} | 5.2 || 4.1 || 4.5 || 2.4 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Latvia}} | 8.6 || 10.2 || 11.0 || 9.6 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Lithuania}} | 7.0 || 7.5 || 6.8 || 7.3 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Malta}} | -1.5 || 2.5 || 1.6 || 3.0 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Poland}} | 5.3 || 3.4 || 6.1 || 6.5 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Romania}} | 4.1 || 8.5 ||7.7 || 6.7 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Slovakia}} | 5.4 || 6.1 || 6.5 || 8.5 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Slovenia}} | 4.2 || 4.0 || 5.2 || 4.3 |- align="right" ! align="left"| ---- | || || || |- align="right" ! align="left"| {{flag|European Union}} | 2.4 || 1.8 || 2.8 || 2.4 |- align="right" ! align="left"| [[Eurozone]] | 2.1 || 1.3 || 2.4 || 2.0 |} |- |} The ten new member states of Eastern and North Europe have enjoyed a higher average percentage growth rate than their Western European counterparts. 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. 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. 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 to increase GDP growth in the central European economies such as [[France]], [[Germany]] and [[Italy]] and stabilise growth in the new Eastern European states to ensure sustained economic prosperity. ==Energy resources== {{main|Energy policy of the European Union}} The European Union has large [[coal]], [[Oil reserves|oil]], and [[natural gas reserves]]. There are six [[List of oil-producing states|oil producers]] in the European Union, primarily in [[North Sea oil]]fields. 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 7th largest producer of [[Petroleum|oil]] in the world, producing 3,424,000 ([[2001]]) [[barrel (unit)|barrel]]s a day. However, it is also the world's 2nd largest [[Oil consumption|consumer of oil]], consuming much more than it can produce, at 14,590,000 ([[2001]]) barrels a day. 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 [[Energy policy of the European Union|EU energy policy]] on [[January 10]], [[2007]]. :''see also: [[Renewable energy in the European Union]]'' and ''[[:category:Energy in the European Union]]'' ==Trade== The European Union is the largest [[export]]er in the world ([https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2078rank.html]) and the second largest importer. Internal trade between the member states is aided by the removal of barriers to trade such as [[tariff]]s and [[border control]]s. In the [[eurozone]], trade is helped by not having any currency differences to deal with amongst most members. 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]], and acts on behalf of member states in any disputes. ==Unemployment== [[Image:EU unemployment march 2005.svg|thumb|350px|Unemployment rate by country in the EU-25 in March, 2005]] [[Image:EU unemployment march 2008.svg‎|thumb|350px|Unemployment rate by country in the EU-27 in March, 2008]] The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union (EU27) in March 2008 was 6.7% compared to 7.5% in March 2007.<ref name="eurostat2008">{{citeweb|title=Euro area unemployment stable |url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PGP_PRD_CAT_PREREL/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2008/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2008_MONTH_04/3-30042008-EN-BP.PDF}}</ref> The unemployment rate (EU25) had already declined in prior years from 8.9% in March 2005 to 8.4% in March 2006.<ref name="eurostat2006">{{citeweb|title=Euro area unemployment down - 2006|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PGP_PRD_CAT_PREREL/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2006/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2006_MONTH_05/3-03052006-EN-BP.PDF}}</ref> The rate varies widely by member state. By comparison in March 2008 the [[United States]] had an unemployment rate of 5.1% (2007: 4.4; 2006: 4.7; 2005: 5.1) and [[Japan]] a rate of 3.9% (2007: 4.0; 2006: 4.1; 2005: 4.5) measured by Eurostat.<ref name="eurostat2008"/><ref name="eurostat2006"/> The following tables show the current unemployment rate of all Member States for March 2008 with comparisons to March 2007, 2006 and 2005 and comparisons to the United States and Japan: {| class="wikitable" |- |- width="50%" align="center" |- valign="top" align="center" | {| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! rowspan=2 | Member State ! colspan=4 | % Unemployment |- style="background:#efefef;" ! <small>March 2005</small> ! <small>March 2006 </small> ! <small>March 2007 </small> ! <small>March 2008 </small> |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Austria}} | 5.1|| 5.1 || 4.5 || 4.1 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Belgium}} | 8.4 || 8.2 || 7.7 || 6.9 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Denmark}} | 5.4 || 4.3 || 4.1 || 3.1 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Finland}} | 8.5 || 7.9 || 7.0 || 6.3 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|France}} | 9.7 || 9.1 || 8.6 || 7.8 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Germany}} | 9.8 || 8.7 || 8.6 || 7.3 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Greece}} | 9.9 || 9.6 || 8.6 || 7.9 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Republic of Ireland|name=Ireland}} | 4.5 || 4.2 || 4.6 || 5.6 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Italy}} | 7.8 || 7.7 || 6.1 || 6.1 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Luxembourg}} | 4.3 || 4.8 || 4.9 || 4.5 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Netherlands}} | 4.9 || 4.0 || 3.4 || 2.6 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Portugal}} | 7.4 || 7.6 || 8.2 || 7.4 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Spain}} | 9.9 || 8.7 || 8.1 || 9.3 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Sweden}} | 6.3 || 7.2 || 6.6 || 5.6 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|United Kingdom}} | 4.6 || 5.0 || 5.5 || 5.1 |- align="right" |} | {| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! rowspan=2 | Member State ! colspan=4 | % Unemployment Rate |- style="background:#efefef;" ! <small>March 2005 </small> ! <small>March 2006 </small> ! <small>March 2007 </small> ! <small>March 2008 </small> |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Bulgaria}} | x || x || 7.5 || 5.9 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Cyprus}} | 5.1 || 5.2 || 4.1 || 3.7 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Czech Republic}} | 8.0 || 7.7 || 5.6 || 4.5 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Estonia}} | 8.8 || 5.3 || 4.9 || 5.5 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Hungary}} | 6.8 || 7.4 || 7.3 || 7.6 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Latvia}} | 9.1 || 7.6 || 6.4 || 5.3 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Lithuania}} | 9.2 || 6.4 || 4.6 || 4.5 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Malta}} | 7.2 || 8.1 || 6.6 || 5.6 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Poland}} | 18.0 || 16.8 || 10.3 || 7.7 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Romania}} | x || x || 6.6 || 6.2 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Slovakia}} | 16.7 || 15.7 || 11.3 || 9.8 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Slovenia}} | 6.4 || 6.2 || 5.2 || 4.3 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|European Union}} | 8.9 || 8.4 || 7.3 || 6.7 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|United States}} | 5.1 || 4.7 || 4.4 || 5.1 |- align="right" ! align="left"|{{flag|Japan}} | 4.5 || 4.1 || 4.0 || 3.9 |} |- |} ==Industries== The [[Service Sector|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]] [[List of recognized economic sectors|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 [[Price control|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 benefactor of the CAP and the bloc's third largest economy, is its most vocal proponent. ===Tourism=== The European Union is a major [[Tourism in the European Union|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 (document)|visa]]. If the EU component states are considered separate entities, [[France]] is the [[World Tourism Rankings|world's number one]] tourist destination for international visitors, followed by [[Spain]], [[Italy]] and the [[United Kingdom]] at 2nd, 5th and 6th spots respectively. If the EU is considered a single entity, the number of international visitors is less, as most visitors to EU nations are from other EU member states. ==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; [[Airbus]], which produces around half of the world's [[jet airliner]]s; [[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 (material)|cork]]-processing and cork producer company; [[ArcelorMittal]], which is the largest [[steel]] company in the world; [[Groupe Danone]], which has the world leadership in the [[dairy products]] market; [[InBev]], which 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 telephone]]s; [[Royal Dutch Shell]], which is the largest [[energy]] corporation 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]]- the worlds largest company- and [[RBS]]. 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. ==Regional variation== Comparing the richest areas of the EU can be a difficult task. This is because the [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|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 (région)|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 island with a population of 26,700, or about the population of a small Finnish city. One problem with this data is that in some areas, including [[Greater London]], are subject to a large number of [[commuter]]s 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 [[Europe]]an level (See also: [[Region (Europe)|Regions of the European Union]]). ===Top 10: economically strongest NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions=== The 10 [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS-1]] and NUTS-2 regions with the highest [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] per capita are all in the first fifteen member states: none are in the [[Enlargement of the European Union|12 new member states]] that joined in May [[2004]] and January [[2007]]. 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 [[#Footnotes|¹]] [http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/extraction/retrieve/en/theme1/reg/reg_e3gdp?OutputDir=EJOutputDir_349&user=unknown&clientsessionid=19A1061DE7EB55F2E04BD008A91F53DF.extraction-worker-1&OutputFile=reg_e3gdp.htm&OutputMode=U&NumberOfCells=3868&Language=en&OutputMime=text%2Fhtml&]. This definition, however, is not respected by Eurostat. E.g.: the ''[[région]]'' of [[Île-de-France (région)|Île-de-France]], with 11.6 million inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-2 region, while the [[states of Germany|state]] of [[Bremen (state)|Bremen]], with only 664,000 inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-1 region. ''See also: [http://ec.europa.eu/comm/eurostat/ramon/nuts/codelist_en.cfm?list=nuts List of NUTS-1, NUTS-2 and NUTS-3 regions]'' {| class="wikitable" !Rank !NUTS-1 region !2005 GDP per capita<br><small>in euros</small> |- | align=right| 1 {{flagicon|Luxembourg}} |[[Luxembourg]] |align=center|64,557 |- | align=right| 2 {{flagicon|Belgium}} |[[Brussels-Capital]], [[Belgium]] |align=center|57,242 |- | align=right| 3 {{flagicon|Germany}} |[[Hamburg]], [[Germany]] |align=center|47,767 |- | align=right| 4 {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} |[[Greater London]], [[United Kingdom]] |align=center|46,525 |- | align=right| 5 {{flagicon|France}} |[[Île-de-France (région)|Île-de-France]], [[France]] |align=center|42,167 |- | align=right| 6 {{flagicon|Ireland}} |[[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] |align=center|38,928 |- | align=right| 7 {{flagicon|Germany}} |[[Bremen (state)|Bremen]], [[Germany]] |align=center|37,123 |- | align=right| 8 {{flagicon|Finland}} |[[Åland]], [[Finland]] |align=center|31,909 |- | align=right| 9 {{flagicon|Netherlands}} |[[Randstad]], [[Netherlands]] |align=center|34,285 |- | align=right| 10 {{flagicon|Germany}} |[[Bavaria]], [[Germany]] |align=center|32,041 |} {| class="wikitable" !Rank !NUTS-2 region !2005 GDP per capita<br><small>in euros</small> |- |colspan=3|Note that {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Frankfurt]] (€75,416 per capita)<ref name="Frankfurt_Paris">{{cite web| url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/extraction/evalight/EVAlight.jsp?A=1&language=en&root=/theme1/reg/reg_e3gdp| title=Table: E3GDP95 = Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices at NUTS level 3 |author=[[Eurostat]]| accessdate=2007-11-14}}</ref> and {{flagicon|France}} [[Paris]] (€75,235 per capita)<ref name="Frankfurt_Paris" /><br>are treated as [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS-3]] by [[Eurostat]] and are thus not listed here. |- | align=right| 1 {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} |[[Inner London]], [[United Kingdom]] |align=center|76,053 |- | align=right| 2 {{flagicon|Luxembourg}} |[[Luxembourg]] |align=center|64,557 |- | align=right| 3 {{flagicon|Belgium}} |[[Brussels-Capital]], [[Belgium]] |align=center|57,242 |- | align=right| 4 {{flagicon|Germany}} |[[Hamburg]], [[Germany]] |align=center|47,767 |- | align=right| 5 {{flagicon|Sweden}} |[[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]] |align=center|45,408 |- | align=right| 6 {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} |[[Berkshire]], [[Buckinghamshire]] & [[Oxfordshire]], [[United Kingdom]] |align=center|42,205 |- | align=right| 7 {{flagicon|France}} |[[Île-de-France (region)|Île-de-France]], [[France]] |align=center|42,167 |- | align=right| 8 {{flagicon|Austria}} |[[Vienna]], [[Austria]] |align=center|41,077 |- | align=right| 9 {{flagicon|Germany}} |Oberbayern ([[Upper Bavaria]]), [[Germany]] |align=center|39,135 |- | align=right| 10 {{flagicon|Netherlands}} |[[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]], [[Netherlands]] |align=center|37,678 |} ===Economically weakest NUTS-2 regions=== The fifteen lowest regions in the ranking in 2004 were all in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, with the lowest figures recorded in Nord-Est in Romania (24% of the average), followed by Severozapaden, Yuzhen tsentralen and Severen tsentralen in Bulgaria (all 26%). Among the 70 regions below the 75% level, fifteen were in Poland, eight each in Greece and Romania, seven in the Czech Republic, six each in Bulgaria and Hungary, four each in France (all overseas departments), Italy and Portugal, three in Slovakia, one region in Spain, and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Malta. {| class="wikitable" !Rank !NUTS-2 region !2005 GDP (PPP) <br>per capita<br><small>in [[Euro]]s</small> !% of the average GDP <br>of EU27 in 2005 |- | align=right| 1 {{flagicon|Romania}} |[[Nord-Est (development region)|Nord-Est]], [[Romania]] |align=center|5,430 |align=center|24 |- | align=right| 2 {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} |[[Severozapaden]], [[Bulgaria]] |align=center|6,023 |align=center|27 |- | align=right| 3 {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} |[[Yuzhen tsentralen]], [[Bulgaria]] |align=center|6,026 |align=center|27 |- | align=right| 4 {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} |[[Severen tsentralen]], [[Bulgaria]] |align=center|6,205 |align=center|28 |- | align=right| 5 {{flagicon|Romania}} |[[Sud-Vest (development region)|Sud-Vest]], [[Romania]] |align=center|6,293 |align=center|28 |- | align=right| 6 {{flagicon|Romania}} |[[Sud (development region)|Sud]], [[Romania]] |align=center|6,526 |align=center|29 |- | align=right| 7 {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} |[[Severoiztochen]], [[Bulgaria]] |align=center|6,874 |align=center|31 |- | align=right| 8 {{flagicon|Romania}} |[[Sud-Est (development region)|Sud-Est]], [[Romania]] |align=center|6,921 |align=center|31 |- | align=right| 9 {{flagicon|Bulgaria}} |[[Yugoiztochen]], [[Bulgaria]] |align=center|7,404 |align=center|33 |- | align=right| 10&nbsp;{{flagicon|Romania}} |[[Nord-Vest (development region)|Nord-Vest]], [[Romania]] |align=center|7,542 |align=center|34 |- | align=right| 11&nbsp;{{flagicon|Poland}} |[[Lubelskie]], [[Poland]] |align=center|7,839 |align=center|35 |- | align=right| 12&nbsp;{{flagicon|Poland}} |[[Podkarpackie]], [[Poland]] |align=center|7,927 |align=center|35 |- | align=right| 13&nbsp;{{flagicon|Romania}} |[[Centru (development region)|Centru]], [[Romania]] |align=center|8,066 |align=center|36 |- | align=right| 14&nbsp;{{flagicon|Poland}} |[[Podlaskie]], [[Poland]] |align=center|8,500 |align=center|38 |- | align=right| 15&nbsp;{{flagicon|Poland}} |[[Swietokrzyskie]], [[Poland]] |align=center|8,586 |align=center|38 |} ===Richest & Poorest NUTS-2 Regions (GDP PPP 2005)=== See also: [http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PGP_PRD_CAT_PREREL/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2008/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2008_MONTH_02/1-12022008-EN-AP.PDF List of all NUTS-2 regions with GDP 2005 data] {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#efefef;" ! rowspan=2 | Member State ! rowspan=2 | Region ! colspan=2 | GDP per capita |- style="background:#efefef;" ! style="width:5em;" | <small>in [[Euro]]s</small> ! style="width:5em;" | <small>As % of EU-27 average</small> |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|European Union}} | 22,400|| 100.0% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Austria}} | 28,852 || 128.8% |- align="right" | Richest |[[Vienna]] |39,774 || 177.6% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Burgenland]] |19,877 || 88.7% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Belgium}} | 27,135 || 121.1% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Brussels-Capital]] |53,876 || 240.5% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Hainaut (province)|Hainaut]] |17,819 || 79.5% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Bulgaria}} | 7,913 || 35.3% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Yugozapaden]] | 11,704 || 52.2% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Severozapaden]] | 6,023 || 26.9% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Cyprus}} | 20,753 || 92.6% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Czech Republic}} | 17,156 || 76.6% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Prague]] | 35,901 || 160.3% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Central Moravia]] | 13,393 || 59.8% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Denmark}} | 28,375 || 126.7% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Hovedstaden]] | 36,073 || 161.0% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Sjaelland]] | 21,265 || 94.9% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|France}} | 25,077 || 111.9% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Ile-de-France]] | 38,666|| 172.6% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[French Guiana]] | 11,306 || 50.5% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Germany}} | 25,797 || 115.2% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Hamburg]] | 45,271 || 202.1% |- align="right" |Poorest |Northeast [[Brandenburg]] | 16,627 || 74.2% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Estonia}} | 14,093 || 62.9% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Finland}} | 25,774 || 115.1% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Åland]] | 31,245 || 139.5% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[NUTS:FI|East Finland]] | 19,114 || 85.3% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Greece}} | 21,589 || 96.4% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Attica]] |29,361 || 131.1% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[West Greece]] | 13,235 || 59.1% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Hungary}} | 14,393 || 64.3% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Central Hungary]] | 23,489 || 104.9% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[NUTS:HU|Northern Hungary]] | 9,153 || 40.9% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Republic of Ireland|name=Ireland}} | 32,197 || 143.7% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Southern and Eastern Ireland|Southern and Eastern]] | 35,420 || 158.1% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Border, Midland and Western]] | 23,367 || 104.3% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Italy}} | 23,474 || 104.8% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Province of Bolzano-Bozen]] | 30,613 || 136.7% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Sicily]] |15,098 || 67.4% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Latvia}} | 11,180 || 49.9% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Lithuania}} | 11,914 || 53.2% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Luxembourg}} | 59,202 || 264.3% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Malta}} | 17,330 || 77.4% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Netherlands}} | 29,374 || 131.0% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Groningen (province)|Groningen]] | 36,728 || 164.0% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Flevoland]] | 21,573 || 96.3% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Poland}} | 11,482 || 51.3% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Mazowieckie]] | 18,184 || 81.2% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Lubelskie]] | 7,839 || 35.0% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Portugal}} | 16,891 || 75.4% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Lisbon Region|Lisbon]] | 23,816 || 106.3% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Norte, Portugal|Norte]] | 13,399 || 59.8% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Romania}} | 7,933 || 35.4% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Bucureşti-Ilfov (development region)|Bucharest-Ilfov]] | 16,760 || 74.8% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Nord-Est (development region)|North East Romania]] | '''5,430''' || '''24.2%''' |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Slovakia}} | 13,563 || 60.6% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Bratislava Region]] | 33,124 || 147.9% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Východné Slovensko]] | 9,663 || 43.1% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Slovenia}} | 19,462 || 86.9% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Zahodna Slovenija]] | 23,453 || 104.7% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Vzhodna Slovenija]] | 16,049 || 71.4% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Spain}} | 23,069 || 103.0% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Madrid (autonomous community)|Madrid]] | 29,997 || 133.9% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Extremadura]] | 15,608 || 69.7% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|Sweden}} | 27,721 || 123.8% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Stockholm]] | 38,574 || 172.2% |- align="right" |Poorest |[[East Middle Sweden]] | 23,621 || 105.4% |- align="right" ! align="left" colspan=2|{{flag|United Kingdom}} | 26,715|| 119.3% |- align="right" |Richest |[[Inner London]] | '''67,798''' || '''302.7%''' |- align="right" |Poorest |[[Cornwall]] & [[Isles of Scilly]] | 17,343 || 77.4% |} ===Comparison with regional blocs=== {{update}} {{Most Active Regional blocs}} ==References== {{reflist}} * {{fnb|1}} 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. * {{cite web|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PGP_PRD_CAT_PREREL/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2005/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2005_MONTH_07/2-18072005-EN-AP.PDF|title=Euro-indicators News release|work=June 2005 inflation data|accessmonthday=July 18 |accessyear=2005}} * {{cite web|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PGP_PRD_CAT_PREREL/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2005/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2005_MONTH_07/3-01072005-EN-AP.PDF|title=Euro-indicators News release|work=May 2005 unemployment data|accessmonthday=July 18 |accessyear=2005}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbank.org/data/quickreference/quickref.html|title=World Bank|work=GNI data ([[July 2005]])|accessmonthday=August 4 |accessyear=2005}} The following links are used for the GDP growth and GDP totals ([[International Monetary Fund|IMF]]): *[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/02/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2002&ED=2006&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=122-178-124-136-172-137-132-138-134-182-174-184&S=NGDP_RPCH&CMP=0&x=57&y=17 Link to Growth Rates for the Eurozone] *[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/02/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2002&ED=2006&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=423-128-144-112&S=NGDP_RPCH&CMP=0&x=75&y=12 Link to non-Eurozone EU15 countries Growth Rates] *[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/02/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2002&ED=2006&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&amp;amp;amp;OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=181-964-935-939-936-944-961-941-946&S=NGDP_RPCH&CMP=0&x=82&y=12 Link to 10 new memberstates Growth Rates] ==See also== *[[Sapir Report]] {{European Union topics}} {{World Trade Organization (WTO)}} <!--Categories--> [[Category:Economy of the European Union| ]] [[Category:European Union member economies]] [[Category:WTO member economies|European Union]] <!--Other languages--> [[es:Economía de la Unión Europea]] [[fr:Économie de l'Union européenne]] [[ja:欧州連合の経済]] [[pl:Ekonomia Unii Europejskiej]] [[pt:Economia da União Europeia]] [[sv:Europeiska unionens ekonomi]]