|
Internally, the EU has abolished trade barriers, adopted a common currency, and is striving 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 $78,000) and historic national animosities, the EU faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. In the wake of the global economic crisis, the European Commission projected that the EU's economy would shrink by 4% in 2009. In September 2009, the Commission reported that the EU was recovering from the crisis faster than it had projected, however, significant risks to sustainable growth remain, including, deteriorating fiscal positions, rising unemployment, and tight bank lending. In June 2010, prompted by the Greek financial crisis, the EU and the IMF set up a $1 trillion bailout fund that could rescue any member of the EMU from default, aiming to calm market jitters that have diminished the value of the euro. Even prior to the global economic crisis Germany and France flouted EMU member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit, and now many more member states are running substantial deficits. 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. Between 2004 and 2007, the EU admitted 12 countries that are, in general, less advanced economically than the other 15. Of the 12 most recent member states, only Slovenia (1 January 2007), Cyprus and Malta (1 January 2008), and Slovakia (1 January 2009) have adopted the euro; the remaining eight are legally required to adopt the currency upon meeting EU's fiscal and monetary convergence criteria.
|
|
|
$14.43 trillion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
$15.05 trillion (2008 est.)
$14.95 trillion (2007 est.)
note:
data are in 2009 US dollars
|
|
|
$16.24 trillion (2009 est.)
|
|
|
-4.1% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179
0.7% (2008 est.)
3.1% (2007 est.)
|
|
|
$32,500 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
$33,900 (2008 est.)
$33,800 (2007 est.)
note:
data are in 2009 US dollars
|
|
|
agriculture: 1.9%
industry:
25.2%
services:
72.8% (2009 est.)
|
|
|
225 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
|
|
|
agriculture: 5.6%
industry:
27.7%
services:
66.7% (2007 est.)
|
|
|
8.9% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
7% (2008 est.)
|
|
|
note - see individual country entries of member states
|
|
|
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%:
25.7% (2002 est.)
|
|
|
31 (2006 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106
31.2 (1996 est.)
|
|
|
19.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
|
|
|
0.7% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
1.8% (2008 est.)
|
|
|
3% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 100
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
|
|
|
8.6% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 114
8.03% (31 December 2007)
|
|
|
$5.542 trillion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 1
$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
|
|
|
$5.631 trillion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 3
$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
|
|
|
$21.17 trillion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 1
$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
|
|
|
$NA (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
$7.564 trillion (31 December 2008)
$15.57 trillion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
|
wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes; dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry; fish
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
-9.5% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 139
|
|
|
3.08 trillion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
|
|
|
2.906 trillion kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
|
|
|
NA kWh
|
|
|
NA kWh
|
|
|
2.383 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
|
|
|
13.68 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
|
|
|
2.196 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
|
|
|
8.613 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
|
|
|
5.718 billion bbl (1 January 2008)
country comparison to the world: 22
|
|
|
181.6 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
|
|
|
489.4 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
|
|
|
NA cu m
|
|
|
NA cu m
|
|
|
2.318 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
|
|
|
$NA (2009)
$51.4 billion (2008 est.)
|
|
|
$1.952 trillion (2007)
country comparison to the world: 1
$1.33 trillion (2005)
note:
external exports, excluding intra-EU trade
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
$1.69 trillion (2007)
country comparison to the world: 1
$1.466 trillion (2005)
note:
external imports, excluding intra-EU trade
|
|
|
machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing
|
|
|
$NA
|
|
|
$NA
|
|
|
euros per US dollar - 0.7338 (2009), 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005)
|
|
|