European Union Economy Profile 2009

Economy - overview

Internally, the EU is attempting to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income among member states (from $7,000 to $69,000) and historic national animosities, the EU faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, since 2003 Germany and France have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. Between 2004 and 2007, the EU admitted 12 countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the other 15. Eleven established EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999 (Greece did so two years later), but the UK, Sweden, and Denmark chose not to participate. Of the 12 most recent member states, only Slovenia (1 January 2007) and Cyprus and Malta (1 January 2008) have adopted the euro; the remaining nine are legally required to adopt the currency upon meeting EU's fiscal and monetary convergence criteria.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$14.91 trillion (2008 est.)
$14.79 trillion (2007 est.)
$14.36 trillion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$18.14 trillion (2008 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

0.8% (2008 est.)
3% (2007 est.)
3.4% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$33,700 (2008 est.)
$33,500 (2007 est.)
$32,600 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 2%
industry: 27.1%
services: 70.9% (2008 est.)

Population below poverty line

note - see individual country entries of member states

Labor force

224.4 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 5.6%
industry: 27.7%
services: 66.7% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate

7.4% (2008 est.)
8.5% (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.2% (2001 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

31 (2005 est.)
31.2 (2003 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

21.1% of GDP (2008 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.5% (2008 est.)
1.8% (2006 est.)

Central bank discount rate

3% (31 December 2008)
5% (31 December 2007)
note: this is the European Central Bank's rate on the marginal lending facility, which offers overnight credit to banks in the euro area

Commercial bank prime lending rate

NA% (31 December 2008)
8.03% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$5.542 trillion (31 December 2008)
$5.649 trillion (31 December 2007)
note: this is the quantity of money, M1, for the euro area, converted into US dollars at the exchange rate for the date indicated; it excludes the stock of money carried by non-euro-area members of the European Union

Stock of quasi money

$5.631 trillion (31 December 2008)
$5.18 trillion (31 December 2007)
note: this is the quantity of quasi money, M2-M1, for the euro area, converted into US dollars at the exchange rate for the date indicated; it excludes the stock of quasi money carried by non-euro-area members of the European Union

Stock of domestic credit

$NA (31 December 2008)
$20.94 trillion (31 December 2007)
note: this figure refers to the euro area only; it excludes credit data for non-euro-area members of the EU

Industries

among the world's largest and most technologically advanced, the EU industrial base includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems, electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism

Industrial production growth rate

-0.6% (2008 est.)

Electricity - production

3.103 trillion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption

2.926 trillion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports

NA kWh

Electricity - imports

NA kWh

Oil - production

2.676 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption

14.38 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - imports

8.613 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports

2.196 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

6.146 billion bbl (1 January 2008)

Natural gas - production

197.8 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption

497.3 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports

NA cu m

Natural gas - imports

NA cu m

Natural gas - proved reserves

2.476 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current Account Balance

$51.4 billion (2008 est.)

Agriculture - products

wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes; dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry; fish

Exports

$1.952 trillion (2007)
$1.33 trillion (2005)
note: external exports, excluding intra-EU trade

Exports - commodities

machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages.

Imports

$1.69 trillion (2007)
$1.466 trillion (2005)
note: external imports, excluding intra-EU trade

Imports - commodities

machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares

$NA (31 December 2008 est.)
$15.57 trillion (31 December 2008)
$13.5 trillion (31 December 2006 est.)

Currency (code)

EUR

Currency (code)

euro, British pound, Bulgarian lev, Czech koruna, Danish krone, Estonian kroon, Hungarian forint, Latvian lat, Lithuanian litas, Polish zloty, Romanian leu, Slovak koruna, Swedish krona

Exchange rates

euros per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)

Fiscal year

NA