Compact guides

Basic figures on the EU

Summer 2012 edition

Eurostat publishes official, harmonised statistics on the European

Union (EU) and the euro area which offer an objective portrayal
of social and economic trends. These statistics are available for
EU Member States, and are sometimes broken down by region.
Furthermore, some of the indicators are published for candidate
countries and other non-member countries.
Eurostat collects data from national statistical institutes;
the statistics are harmonised according to Europe-wide
methodologies. Data are, therefore, genuinely comparable
across the whole of the EU.
Website
Eurostats website: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat provides free
access to EU statistics, and is also available in German and French.
Statistics Explained is a wiki-based system that presents statistical
topics in an easy to understand way. Together, the articles make
up an encyclopaedia of European statistics and can be accessed at:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained. There one can
also access continuously updated virtual publications http://bit.ly/
Eurostat_yearbook and http://bit.ly/Eurostat_regional _yearbook.
Eurostat releases a range of publications, all of
which are free of charge on its website in PDF
format; some of these are also available in German
and French. Among these, the pocketbook Key
figures on Europe 2011 edition provides a
comprehensive set of information introducing
readers to most statistical themes that are covered
by Eurostat.
Contact details
Eurostat
5, rue Alphonse Weicker
2721 Luxembourg
LUXEMBOURG
E-mail: estat-user-support@ec.europa.eu
More information: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
ISSN 1831-9556
European Union 2012
Cover: Phovoir

KS-GL-12-002-EN-C

Eurostat, the statistical office

of the European Union

General information
Coverage
The tables show information for the EU, the euro area, the EU
Member States and three EFTA countries. The euro area (EA-17) is
composed of: Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain,
France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria,
Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. The EU (EU-27) includes
the EA-17 countries and also: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the United
Kingdom. The three EFTA countries covered are: Iceland, Norway
and Switzerland.
The information presented in this short guide is generally based
on fixed EU and euro area aggregates for 27 and 17 Member States
respectively however, the data for inflation is based on moving
aggregates that reflect the membership of the EU and euro area over
time. Quarterly growth rates are expressed in relation to the previous
quarter. Quarterly rates are generally calculated using seasonally
adjusted data, although rates for the public balance, government debt
and long-term unemployment are based on non seasonally adjusted
data. Furthermore, annual rates of change for inflation are also based
on non seasonally adjusted data.
Symbols and abbreviations
: not available
Figures in italics are estimates, provisional or forecasts
Extraction date
Data were extracted on 30 April 2012.
The next edition (extraction planned: 31 July 2012) will be issued in
August 2012.
The most recent data is available at
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/
portal/page/portal/statistics/search_database
Data codes
The Eurostat online data code, which is given at the bottom of each
column of data in the tables and as part of the source for figures,
provides users with a quick and efficient way of accessing the most upto-date statistics. When used through the search facility of Eurostats
website, each data code directs users to the corresponding dataset
offering the freshest data and longer time-series.

Europe 2020 strategy indicators, EU-27

Principal European economic indicators

Europe 2020, a strategy for jobs and smart, sustainable and

inclusive growth, is based on five EU headline targets which
are currently measured byeight headline indicators.

GDP, quarterly growth rate (%)

Education

Climate change /
energy

R&D

Employment (1)

2005 2009
Employment rate
68.0 68.6
(% of population aged 2064)
female
60.0 62.1
male
76.0 75.1
Gross domestic
expenditure on R&D
1.83 2.01
(% of GDP)
Greenhouse gas
92
83
emissions (index, 1990=100)
Renewables in gross final
9.0 11.7
energy consumption (%) (2)
Energy intensity
181.3 165.7
(kgoe/(EUR 1 000 of GDP))
Early leavers from
15.8 14.4
education & training (%)
female
13.7 12.5
male
17.8 16.2
Tertiary educational attainment
28.0 32.3
(% of population aged 3034)
female
30.0 35.6
male
26.0 28.9

Poverty or
social exclusion

People at-risk-of poverty

or social exclusion (million)
People at-risk-of poverty
or social exclusion (%)
In households with very
low work intensity (%)
At-risk-of-poverty after
social transfers (%)
Severely materially
deprived (%)

124.3 113.7
25.7

23.1

2010
68.6

2.5

Target

0.0

75

-2.5

62.3
75.0
2.00

-5.0
Q4-2003

Q4-2005
EU-27

Q4-2007
Japan

Q4-2009
United States

Q4-2011

80

20

168.0

()

14.1

<10

12.1
16.0
33.6

EU-27

40

37.2
30.0
20
115.8 million
less

10.0

16.4

16.3

16.4

10.7

8.1

8.1

Q4-2011

10
5
0

9.0

Q4-2007
Q4-2009
Euro area (EA-17)

Trade of goods and services, quarterly growth rate, EU-27 (%)

-5
-10
Q4-2003

Q4-2005
Q4-2007
Exports of goods
Exports of services

Source: Eurostat (online data code: namq_exi_k)

10

12

14

March 2012 (2)

Inflation, annual rate of change, all-items indices,

March 2012 (%)

Source: Eurostat (online data code: lc_lci_r2_q)

23.5

10.4

Q4-2005

-2

(1) Estimate for March 2011. (2) Provisional.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: prc_hicp_manr)

Labour cost index, quarterly growth rate (%)

2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
-0.5
Q4-2003

All-items HICP
Energy (1)
Alcoholicbev.&tobacco
Transport
Housing
Food&non-alcoholicbev.
Health
Education
Restaurants & hotels
Clothing & footwear
Householdequipment
Recreation & culture
Communications
Miscellaneous

March 2011

Source: Eurostat (online data code: namq_gdp_k)

( ) 2010 and 2011 instead of 2009 and 2010 respectively.

(2) 2006 instead of 2005.
(3) Proxy indicator: target is to improve energy efficiency by 20 %.
Source: Eurostat (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/europe_2020_indicators/headline_indicators)
1

Inflation, annual rate of change, EU (%)

Q4-2009
Q4-2011
Imports of goods
Imports of services

EU (1)
Euro area (1)
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
Ireland
Greece
Spain
France
Italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Hungary
Malta (1)
Netherlands (1)
Austria (1)
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Finland
Sweden
United Kingdom (2)
Iceland
Norway
Switzerland

-2

(1) Provisional. (2) February 2012.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: prc_hicp_manr)

Economy, public finance

GDP in current prices

EU-27
Euro area (EA-17)
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
Ireland
Greece
Spain
France
Italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Hungary
Malta
Netherlands
Austria
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Finland
Sweden
United Kingdom
Iceland
Norway
Switzerland
Online data code:

(EUR /
(EUR1000
inhabitant) (1)
million)
2011
25 100
12 629
28 300
9 414
33 600
369
4 800
38
14 700
155
43 100
240
31 400
2 571
11 900
16
34 900
156
19 000
215
23 300
1 073
29 800
1 988
26 000
1 580
22 000
18
9 700
20
9 500
31
82 700
43
10 100
101
15 300
6
36 100
602
35 800
301
9 300
370
16 100
171
5 800
136
17 400
36
12 700
69
35 600
192
41 000
387
27 700
1 737
31 700
10
64 500
348
58 400
458
nama_gdp_c

(1) Bulgaria, Ireland, France, Poland, Romania and Norway, 2010.

Source: Eurostat

GDP growth in volume

Public balance

Government debt

Quarterly growth rate (%)

(% of GDP)

(% of GDP)

Q3-2011
Q4-2011
-4.4
-4.3
-4.4
-2.8
-8.9
-0.3
0.5
-8.7
-2.5
-4.7
-2.1
-2.0
-1.9
-1.1
3.7
-2.1
-25.8
-5.9
-9.5
-5.6
-6.4
-12.3
-5.3
-0.6
-2.5
-2.8
1.9
-13.0
-1.7
-11.1
-1.5
-8.3
-2.1
-2.1
-4.2
-5.9
-2.2
-0.1
-5.8
-3.4
-3.7
1.8
-0.7
-11.5
-3.8
3.0
-2.7
-9.5
-4.7
-3.1
-2.3
-6.6
-1.1
-5.6
0.4
-4.8
-7.0
-10.2
-3.1
-7.0
13.7
12.5
:
:
gov_q_ggnfa

Q3-2011
Q4-2011
81.5
82.5
86.7
87.3
98.6
98.0
15.0
16.3
40.1
41.2
49.2
46.5
81.6
81.2
6.0
6.0
104.5
108.2
158.8
165.3
66.0
68.5
85.4
86.0
119.3
120.1
66.9
71.6
44.2
42.6
37.5
38.5
18.5
18.2
82.8
80.6
70.2
72.0
64.5
65.2
71.6
72.2
56.3
56.4
110.2
107.8
32.7
33.3
44.9
47.6
42.2
43.3
47.4
48.6
36.6
38.4
84.4
85.7
:
:
39.1
29.0
:
:
gov_q_ggdebt

Q2-2011
0.2
0.1
0.3
0.5
0.3
0.4
0.3
1.6
1.1
:
0.2
0.0
0.3
0.0
2.0
1.7
-0.6
0.1
0.4
0.2
0.5
1.2
-0.3
0.2
-0.1
0.8
-0.1
1.1
-0.1
-4.4
0.5
0.4

Q3-2011
0.3
0.1
-0.1
0.2
-0.1
-0.1
0.6
0.9
-1.1
:
0.0
0.3
-0.2
-0.8
1.5
1.3
1.0
0.4
0.1
-0.4
0.2
1.0
-0.6
1.1
-0.4
0.8
1.1
0.9
0.6
4.4
1.1
0.3
teina011

Q4-2011
-0.3
-0.3
-0.1
0.3
-0.1
-0.1
-0.2
-0.2
-0.2
:
-0.3
0.2
-0.7
-0.1
1.1
1.0
0.2
0.3
-0.6
-0.6
-0.1
1.1
-1.3
-0.2
-0.7
0.9
0.1
-1.1
-0.3
1.9
0.5
0.1

Population, living conditions and education

Population
Share of age
Total
group (%) (1)
(million)
<15
65+
1.1.2011
EU-27
502.48
15.6
17.4
Euro area (EA-17) 331.95
15.4
18.3
Belgium
10.95
16.9
17.2
Bulgaria
7.50
13.8
17.7
Czech Republic
10.53
14.4
15.5
Denmark
5.56
17.9
16.8
Germany
81.75
13.4
20.6
Estonia
1.34
15.3
17.0
Ireland
4.48
21.8
11.6
Greece
11.31
14.4
19.3
Spain
46.15
15.1
17.1
France
65.05
18.5
16.7
Italy
60.63
14.0
20.3
Cyprus
0.80
16.9
13.1
Latvia
2.23
13.7
17.4
Lithuania
3.24
15.0
16.5
Luxembourg
0.51
17.6
13.9
Hungary
9.99
14.6
16.7
Malta
0.42
15.3
15.5
Netherlands
16.66
17.5
15.6
Austria
8.40
14.7
17.6
Poland
38.20
15.1
13.6
Portugal
10.64
15.1
18.2
Romania
21.41
15.2
14.9
Slovenia
2.05
14.2
16.5
Slovakia
5.44
15.3
12.4
Finland
5.38
16.5
17.5
Sweden
9.42
16.6
18.5
United Kingdom
62.44
17.4
16.6
Iceland
0.32
20.9
12.3
Norway
4.92
18.7
15.1
Switzerland
7.87
15.1
16.9
Online data code: tps00001
tps00010

Fertility
rate
(children /
woman) (2)
1.59
1.56
1.84
1.49
1.49
1.87
1.39
1.63
2.07
1.51
1.38
2.03
1.41
1.51
1.17
1.55
1.63
1.25
1.38
1.79
1.44
1.38
1.36
1.38
1.57
1.40
1.87
1.98
1.94
2.20
1.95
1.52
tsdde220

Life expectancy At-risk-of poverty

rate
atbirth
(%)
(years) (3)
Male
Female
Male
Female
2010
76.7
82.6
15.7
17.1
78.0
83.7
15.3
16.9
77.6
83.0
13.9
15.2
70.3
77.4
19.0
22.3
74.5
80.9
8.0
10.0
77.2
81.4
13.1
13.4
78.0
83.0
14.9
16.4
70.6
80.8
15.4
16.2
78.7
83.2
15.9
16.2
78.4
82.8
19.3
20.9
79.1
85.3
20.1
21.3
78.3
85.3
12.8
14.1
79.4
84.6
16.8
19.5
78.6
83.6
15.5
18.5
68.6
78.4
21.7
21.0
68.0
78.9
20.7
19.8
77.9
83.5
14.6
14.4
70.7
78.6
12.6
12.0
79.2
83.6
15.0
16.0
78.9
83.0
9.7
10.8
77.9
83.5
10.7
13.5
72.1
80.7
17.4
17.7
76.7
82.8
17.3
18.4
69.8
77.4
20.7
21.4
76.4
83.1
11.3
14.1
71.7
79.3
11.7
12.2
76.9
83.5
12.4
13.8
79.6
83.6
11.4
14.3
78.6
82.6
16.4
17.8
79.8
84.1
9.8
9.8
79.0
83.3
10.1
12.2
80.3
84.9
13.8
16.1
tps00025
tessi010

Educational
Early leavers
attainment
from education
(%) (4)
and training (%) (5)
Male
Female
Male
Female
73.7
71.7
69.0
67.9
70.0
71.0
79.3
79.6
94.8
89.1
77.8
75.1
88.3
83.3
86.3
91.8
70.5
76.4
60.8
64.3
51.5
53.7
72.0
69.6
54.3
56.0
75.2
73.0
85.1
91.6
91.0
93.0
80.7
74.6
84.3
78.4
31.8
26.1
73.9
70.8
87.6
77.5
88.8
88.5
28.6
35.1
78.5
70.2
85.2
81.4
92.8
89.1
80.8
85.2
81.6
81.5
78.9
73.4
67.0
66.1
81.4
80.5
88.9
82.6
edat_lfse_08

16.0
12.1
18.0
13.0
13.8
10.0
13.2
14.5
4.9
4.8
13.6
7.5
12.7
11.0
18.4
9.3
12.6
8.4
16.5
10.8
33.5
23.1
15.2
10.0
22.0
15.4
16.2
9.8
17.2
9.4
9.9
6.2
8.0
6.0
11.5
9.5
40.9
32.3
12.2
7.9
8.4
8.2
7.2
3.5
32.7
24.6
18.6
18.2
6.4
3.3
4.6
4.9
9.0
11.6
10.9
8.5
15.8
14.0
26.0
19.0
21.4
13.2
6.1
7.0
t2020_40

(1) EU-27, EA-17, Belgium, Cyprus and Romania, 1.1.2010. (2) EU-27, EA-17, Belgium, Cyprus, Romania and the United Kingdom, 2009. (3) EU-27, EA-17, Italy, Cyprus and Romania, 2009. (4) Those aged 2564 with at least
an upper secondary education (level generally prior to higher education). (5) Percentage of the population aged 1824 with at most a lower secondary education and not in further education or training; Estonia, 2009 for the
female rate.
Source: Eurostat

Employment and unemployment

Employment

EU-27
Euro area (EA-17)
Belgium
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Denmark
Germany
Estonia
Ireland
Greece
Spain
France
Italy
Cyprus
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Hungary
Malta
Netherlands
Austria
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Slovakia
Finland
Sweden
United Kingdom
Iceland
Norway
Switzerland
Online data code:
Source: Eurostat

Employment rate, aged

2064 (% of population)

(1 000)

Total

Male

Female

Q4-2010 Q4-2011
223 011 222 919
146 770 146 425
4 490
4 523
3 381
3 304
5 082
5 087
2 803
2 791
41 019
41 579
567
595
1 823
1 807
4 654
4 259
18 639
18 076
26 723
26 835
24 683
24 630
391
390
943
980
1 366
1 378
:
:
4 103
4 114
167
170
8 676
8 682
4 099
4 152
15 983
16 082
4 902
4 752
8 880
9 014
953
941
2 189
2 208
2 426
2 465
4 493
4 561
31 306
31 674
:
:
2 615
2 661
:
:
lfsi_grt_q

68.6
68.4
67.6
64.1
71.1
75.8
77.0
71.2
64.3
57.6
60.7
68.9
61.1
72.6
68.4
68.0
69.6
61.4
61.3
77.5
75.3
64.9
67.7
62.3
68.5
65.1
73.8
79.9
73.5
80.3
79.8
82.0

Q4-2011
74.9
74.8
73.7
66.1
80.0
79.3
82.2
74.2
68.9
68.1
66.5
73.4
72.2
78.4
70.3
69.3
77.3
67.5
78.4
83.0
81.1
72.4
71.7
69.8
71.8
72.8
75.4
82.6
79.3
84.9
82.4
88.1
lfsi_emp_q

62.3
62.0
61.5
62.0
62.0
72.3
71.7
68.5
59.8
47.0
54.9
64.6
50.2
66.8
66.5
66.9
61.8
55.4
43.5
71.9
69.5
57.6
63.7
54.8
65.1
57.4
72.1
77.1
67.9
75.6
77.0
75.9

Unemployment rate
(% of the labour force)
Youth,
Total
Long-term
aged 15-24
Q4-2011 Q1-2012 Q4-2011 Q1-2012 Q4-2010 Q4-2011
10.0
10.2
22.2
22.5
4.0
4.3
10.6
10.9
21.5
21.9
4.5
4.9
7.2
7.3
17.7
17.0
3.9
3.4
11.6
12.4
28.2
32.1
5.9
6.4
6.6
6.7
18.3
19.0
3.0
2.8
7.8
7.9
14.3
14.8
1.7
1.8
5.6
5.6
8.3
8.0
3.2
2.6
11.7
:
24.9
:
6.6
6.7
14.7
14.6
30.4
31.0
7.9
9.1
20.5
:
49.6
:
6.5
10.8
23.0
23.8
49.0
50.7
8.2
9.9
9.8
10.0
22.8
21.9
3.9
4.2
9.1
:
31.6
:
4.2
4.9
9.3
9.8
26.9
28.8
1.4
2.2
14.6
:
27.3
:
9.3
7.4
14.3
:
34.3
:
8.5
7.1
4.9
5.2
16.0
17.0
1.6
1.4
10.9
11.2
26.7
28.3
5.6
4.9
6.6
6.8
13.9
14.2
3.3
3.2
4.9
5.0
8.5
9.2
1.3
1.6
4.3
:
8.8
:
1.1
1.1
10.0
10.1
26.8
27.1
3.3
3.8
14.1
15.0
34.1
35.5
6.5
6.7
7.5
7.3
24.8
:
2.6
3.4
8.7
8.6
16.4
16.5
3.6
3.9
14.0
14.0
33.8
34.0
9.5
9.5
7.6
7.5
19.9
19.6
2.2
1.8
7.5
7.5
22.8
22.9
1.5
1.3
8.3
:
22.0
:
2.6
2.7
:
:
:
:
:
:
3.3
:
8.2
:
0.7
0.7
:
:
:
:
:
:
une_rt_q
une_ltu_q