Economy of the European Union

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit

Jump to: navigation, search

Economy of the European Union
Currency	1 Euro (€) = 100 cents
Other currencies in member states Bulgarian lev • Czech koruna • Danish krone • Estonian kroon • Hungarian forint • Latvian lats • Lithuanian litas • Polish złoty • Romanian leu • Swedish krona • British Pound sterling
Statistics
GDP ranking	1st (2009)
GDP (Nominal)	US $16.447 trillion (2009) €11.806 trillion (2009)
GDP (PPP)	US $14.794 trillion (2009)
GDP growth rate	-4.08% (2009)
GDP per capita	US $33,052 (nominal) US $29,729 (PPP) (2009)
GDP by sector (2006)	70.5% services 27.3% industry   2.1% agriculture
Inflation	1% (2009)
Population below poverty threshold	17%
Labour force	235.8 million[1]
Labour force by occupation (2006)	67.0% services 27.3% industry   4.4% agriculture
Unemployment	9.6% (February 2010)
Sources: [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Trading partners
Imports	US $2.282 trillion (ranking: 1st) (2008)
Main import partners (2008) China, Unites States, Russia, Norway, Switzerland
Exports	US $1.925 trillion (ranking: 1st) (2008)
Main export partners (2008) United States, Russia, Switzerland, China, Turkey
Sources: [8]
Public finances
Public debt	€ 8,690.3 billion (73.6% of GDP) (2009)
Public deficit	€ -801.87 billion (-6.8% of GDP) (2009)
Expenditure	50.7% of GDP (2009)
Revenue	44% of GDP (2009)
Sources: [9]

The economy of the European Union generates a GDP of over €11,805.66 billion ($16,447.26 billion in 2009) according to the IMF, making it the largest economy in the world. The EU economy consists of a single market and is represented as a unified entity in the WTO.

Contents [hide] 1 Currency 2 Budget 3 Economic variation 4 Economies of member states 5 Economic growth 6 Energy resources 7 Trade 8 Unemployment 9 Industries 9.1 Agriculture 9.2 Tourism 10 Companies 11 Gini index 12 Regional variation 12.1 Top 10: economically strongest NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions 12.2 Economically weakest NUTS-2 regions 13 Richest & Poorest NUTS Regions (GDP PPP 2007) 13.1 Richest & Poorest NUTS-2 Regions (GDP PPP 2007) 13.2 Richest & Poorest NUTS-1 Regions (GDP PPP 2007) 14 References 15 See also

[edit] 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 16 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.

[edit] Budget

Further information: 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,^[1] this represents around 1% of the EU's GDP. By comparison, the UK expenditure for 2004 alone was estimated at about €759 billion and France's was estimated at about €801 billion. In 1960, the then "EU" (EEC) budget was 0.03% of GDP. [10]

[edit] 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.

GDP (PPP) per capita 2008
      >€30,000       >€25,000       >€20,000       >€15,000       >€10,000

Member States	GDP 2008 millions of euro	Population in millions	GDP (PPP) per capita 2008 euro	GDP (PPP) per capita 2008 perc. of EU27	Eurozone yes/no
European Union	12,506,778	498	25,100	100.0%
Germany	2,495,800	82.3	29,000	115.6%	yes
France	1,950,085	63.8	27,100	108.0%	yes
United Kingdom	1,818,948	60.9	29,100	116.2%	no
Italy	1,572,243	59.3	25,500	101.8%	yes
Spain	1,088,502	44.8	25,700	102.6%	yes
Netherlands	595,883	16.4	33,600	134.0%	yes
Poland	362,415	38.0	14,100	56.4%	no
Belgium	344,676	10.6	28,900	115.1%	yes
Sweden	328,087	9.1	30,100	120.0%	no
Austria	281,867	8.3	31,000	123.5%	yes
Greece	239,141(p)	11.2	23,600(p)	94.3%(p)	yes
Denmark	233,026	5.5	30,100	120.1%	no
Ireland	181,814	4.4	33,900	135.4%	yes
Finland	184,179	5.3	29,300	116.8%	yes
Portugal	166,436	10.6	19,000	76.0%	yes
Czech Republic	147,879	10.3	20,200	80.4%	no
Romania	139,752	21.5	10,400(2007)	41.6%(2007)	no
Hungary	105,535	10.0	16,100	64.4%	no
Slovakia	64,778	5.4	18,100	72.2%	yes
Luxembourg	39,346	0.5	69,300	276.4%	yes
Slovenia	37,135	2.0	22,800	90.9%	yes
Bulgaria	34,118	7.6	10,400	41.3%	no
Lithuania	32,202	3.4	15,500	61.9%	no
Latvia	23,159	2.3	14,400	57.3%	no
Cyprus	17,247	0.8	24,000	95.8%	yes
Estonia	16,073	1.3	16,900	67.4%	no
Malta	5,702	0.4	19,100	76.0%	yes

States outside EU	GDP 2008 millions of euro	Population in millions	GDP (PPP) per capita 2008 euro	GDP (PPP) per capita 2008 perc. of EU27	Eurozone yes/no
Norway	228,572	4.6	47,900	191.4%	no
Switzerland	269,850	7.7	35,300(p)	140.7%(p)	no
Iceland	9,657	0.3	30.300	120.6%	no

Other candidates	GDP 2008 millions of euro	Population in millions	GDP (PPP) per capita 2008 euro	GDP (PPP) per capita 2008 perc. of EU27	Eurozone yes/no
Croatia	68,654	4.4	15,700	62.7%	no
Turkey	811,314	71.0	11,400	45.5%	no
Macedonia	16,711(p)	2.0	7,700(2007)	30.7%(2007)	no

p: provisional value
e: estimated value
Source: GDP Millions of PPS:EUROSTAT([11]), GDP(PPP) per inhabitant: EUROSTAT([12]),GDP per capita in PPS :EUROSTAT([13]) .

[edit] 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, Annual change of GDP, GDP per capita are based on the IMF "World Economic Outlook" released in April 2010. [14]

Member State sorted by GDP	GDP in billions of US $ (2009)	GDP % of EU (2009)	Annual change  % of GDP (2009)	GDP per capita in PPP US$ (2009)	Public Debt[2] % of GDP (2009)	Deficit (-)/ Surplus (+)[3] % of GDP (2009)	Inflation % Annual[4] (2009)	Unemp.[5] % (*Q2 2009)(**August 2009) (***Q3 2009)
European Union [15]	16,447.2	100.0%	-4.082	29,729	73.6%	-6.8	1	9.3
Germany	3,352.7	19.8%	-4.97	34,212	73.2	-3.3	0.2	7.5
France	2,675.9	15.4%	-2.19	33,678	77.6	-7.5	0.1	10.1
United Kingdom	2,183.6	15.3%	-4.92	34,619	68.1	-11.5	2.2	7.8**
Italy	2,118.7	12.6%	-5.04	29,109	115.8	-5.3	0.8	8.0
Spain	1,464.0	8.8%	-3.69	29,689	53.2	-11.2	-0.3	19.3
Netherlands	862.9	4.7%	-3.98	39,938	60.9	-5.3	1	3.7
Belgium	470.4	2.7%	-3.0	35,421	96.7	-6.0	0.0	8.1
Poland	430.2	2.4%	1.7	18,072	51.0	-7.1	4.0	8.4
Sweden	405.4	2.7%	-4.4	35,965	42.3	-0.5	1.9	8.8
Austria	381.9	2.3%	-3.61	38,838	66.5	-3.4	0.4	4.7
Greece	330.8	2.0%	-1.96	29,881	115.1	-13.6	1.3	9.2*
Denmark	309.2	1.9%	-5.07	35,157	41.6	-2.7	1.1	6.9
Finland	238.1	1.5%	-7.76	33,556	44.0	-2.2	1.6	8.7
Portugal	227.9	1.3%	-2.68	21,859	76.8	-9.4	-0.9	10.2
Ireland	227.8	1.6%	-7.1	39,468	64.0	-14.3	'-1.7	12.8
Czech Republic	194.8	1.1%	-4.29	24,093	35.4	-5.9	0.6	7.1
Romania	161.5	1.0%	-7.13	11,917	23.7	-8.3	5.6	6.4*
Hungary	129.4	0.8%	-6.33	18,567	78.3	-4.0	4.0	9.9
Slovakia	88.2	0.5%	-4.66	21,245	35.7	-6.8	0.9	12.2
Luxembourg	51.7	0.3%	-4.22	78,395	14.5	-0.7	0.0	6.6
Slovenia	49.2	0.3%	-7.33	27,654	35.9	-5.5	0.9	6.2
Bulgaria	47.1	0.3%	-5.03	11,900	14.8	-3.9	2.5	7.9
Lithuania	37.2	0.3%	-14.96	16,542	29.3	-8.9	4.2	13.8*
Latvia	26.2	0.2%	-18.01	14,255	36.1	-9.0	3.3	20.9
Cyprus	23.6	0.1%	-1.74	28,544	56.2	-6.1	0.2	6.0
Estonia	19.1	0.1%	-14.08	17,908	7.2	-1.7	0.2	15.2***
Malta	7.9	0.1%	-1.93	23,584	69.1	-3.8	1.8	7.0

[edit] Economic growth

The EU's share of Gross world product (GWP) is stable at around one fifth [16]. GDP growth, though strong in the new member states, is being offset by sluggish growth in France, Italy and Portugal.

Population and GDP per capita of EU member states and some candidates.

[17] EU15 GDP growth rates

[18] New Member States GDP growth rates

Member State  % GDP Growth 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009  Austria 2.5 3.5 3.5 2.0 -3.6  Belgium 1.8 2.8 2.9 1.0 -3.1  Denmark 2.4 3.4 1.7 -0.9 -4.9  Finland 2.9 4.4 4.9 1.2 -7.8  France 1.9 2.2 2.3 0.4 -2.2  Germany 0.8 3.2 2.5 1.3 -5.0  Greece 2.2 4.5 4.5 2.0 -2.0  Ireland 6.2 5.4 6.0 -3.0 -7.5  Italy 0.7 2.0 1.6 -1.0 -5.0  Luxembourg 5.4 5.6 6.5 0.0 -3.4  Netherlands 2.0 3.4 3.6 2.0 -4.0  Portugal 0.9 1.4 1.9 0.0 -2.7  Spain 3.6 4.0 3.6 0.9 -3.6  Sweden 3.3 4.2 2.5 -0.2 -4.9  United Kingdom 2.2 2.9 2.6 0.5 -4.9

Member State  % GDP Growth 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009  Bulgaria 6.2 6.3 6.2 6.0 -5.0  Cyprus 3.9 4.1 5.1 3.6 -1.7  Czech Republic 6.3 6.8 6.1 2.5 -4.8  Estonia 9.4 10.0 7.2 -3.6 -14.1  Hungary 3.5 4.0 1.0 0.6 -6.3  Latvia 10.6 12.2 10.0 -4.6 -18.0  Lithuania 7.8 7.8 9.8 -2.8 -14.8  Malta 4.0 3.5 4.0 2.1 -1.9  Poland 3.6 6.2 6.8 5.0 1.7  Romania 4.2 7.9 6.3 7.3 -7.1  Slovakia 6.7 8.5 10.6 6.2 -4.7  Slovenia 4.5 5.8 6.8 3.5 -7.8  European Union 2.0 3.2 2.9 0.8 -4.2 Eurozone 1.7 3.0 2.8 0.6 -4.1

The twelve new member states of Central and Eastern 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 (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 (2009), Poland had the biggest GDP growth from all the states in EU (1,7%). 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 Central and Eastern European states to ensure sustained economic prosperity.

[edit] 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 7th largest producer of oil in the world, producing 3,424,000 (2001) barrels a day. However, it is also the world's 2nd 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

[edit] Trade

The European Union is the largest exporter in the world ([19]) and as of 2008 the largest importer of goods and services^[6]. 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. 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. However, when the EU negotiates trade related agreement outside the WTO framework, the subsequent agreement must be approved by each individual EU member.^[7]

[edit] Unemployment

Unemployment rate by country in the EU-27 in March, 2009

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.^[8] 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.^[9] The rate varies widely by member state. There has been a steep upturn in the unemployment rate in recent months 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).^[5][9][10] 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:

Member State  % Unemployment March 2005 March 2006 March 2007 March 2008 March 2009  Austria 5.1 5.1 4.5 4.1 4.5  Belgium 8.4 8.2 7.7 6.9 7.3  Denmark 5.4 4.3 4.1 3.0 5.7  Finland 8.5 7.9 7.0 6.3 7.4  France 9.7 9.1 8.6 7.6 8.8  Germany 9.8 8.7 8.6 7.4 7.6  Greece 9.9 9.6 8.6 7.8 7.8  Ireland 4.5 4.2 4.6 5.6 10.6  Italy 7.8 7.7 6.1 6.6 6.9  Luxembourg 4.3 4.8 4.9 4.4 6.1  Netherlands 4.9 4.0 3.4 2.8 2.8  Portugal 7.4 7.6 8.2 7.6 8.5  Spain 9.9 8.7 8.1 9.5 17.4  Sweden 6.3 7.2 6.6 5.8 8.0  United Kingdom 4.6 5.0 5.5 5.2 6.6

Member State  % Unemployment Rate March 2005 March 2006 March 2007 March 2008 March 2009  Bulgaria x x 7.5 6.1 5.9  Cyprus 5.1 5.2 4.1 3.7 4.9  Czech Republic 8.0 7.7 5.6 4.4 5.5  Estonia 8.8 5.3 4.9 4.0 11.1  Hungary 6.8 7.4 7.3 7.6 9.2  Latvia 9.1 7.6 6.4 6.1 16.1  Lithuania 9.2 6.4 4.6 4.3 15.5  Malta 7.2 8.1 6.6 5.8 6.7  Poland 18.0 16.8 10.3 7.4 7.7  Romania x x 6.6 6.2 5.8  Slovakia 16.7 15.7 11.3 9.9 10.5  Slovenia 6.4 6.2 5.2 4.5 5.0  European Union 8.9 8.4 7.3 6.7 8.3  United States 5.1 4.7 4.4 5.1 8.5  Japan 4.5 4.1 4.0 3.9 4.4

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 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.

[edit] 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, 5th and 6th spots respectively. It is worth noting however a significant proportion of international visitors to EU countries are from other member states.

[edit] 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 airliners; 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; Groupe Danone, which has the world leadership in the dairy products market; Anheuser-Busch 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 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.

[edit] 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 the exact same income and 1 represents perfect inequality with one person having all income. According to the United Nations (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,^[11] as a comparison the USA has 0.463,^[12] a surprising result since the EU has virtually no interstate income redistribution power and poorer new member states joined in 2004.

[edit] 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).

[edit] Top 10: economically strongest NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions

See also: List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita

The 10 NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions with the highest GDP per capita are all, but one, in the first fifteen member states: Prague is the only one in the 12 new member states that joined in May 2004 and January 2007.^[13] The leading regions in the ranking of NUTS-2 regional GDP per inhabitant in 2007 were Inner London in the United Kingdom (334% of the average), the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (275%) and Bruxelles/Brussels in Belgium (221%). 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."^[13]). Among the 41 NUTS-2 regions exceeding the 125% level, nine were in Germany, five each in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, four in Austria, three each in Spain and Italy, two each in Belgium and Finland, one each in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, 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 [20]. 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 of Bremen, with only 664,000 inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-1 region.

See also: First level NTUS of the European Union

Rank NUTS-2 Region Member state GDP per capita in Euros As % of EU-27 average 1. Inner London  United Kingdom 83,200 334.2 % 2. Luxembourg  Luxembourg 68,500 275.2% 3. Bruxelles-Cap., Brussels Hfdst.  Belgium 55,000 220.9 % 4. Hamburg  Germany 47,800 192.0 % 5. Praha  Czech Republic 42,800 171.8 % 6. Île-de-France  France 42,000 168.7 % 7. Southern and Eastern  Ireland 41,400 166.1 % 8. Groningen  Netherlands 41,100 164.9 % 9. Oberbayern  Germany 41,000 164.7 % 10. Stockholm  Sweden 41,000 164.6 % 11. Wien  Austria 40,600 163.1 % 12. Bratislavský kraj  Slovakia 39,900 160.3 % 13. Bremen  Germany 39,500 158.6 % 14. Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire  United Kingdom 38,900 156.1 % 15. Darmstadt  Germany 38,900 156.1 % 16. Utrecht  Netherlands 38,700 155.4 % 17. North Eastern Scotland  United Kingdom 38,100 152.9 % 18. Hovedstaden  Denmark 37,400 150.3 % 19. Noord-Holland  Netherlands 37,400 150.1 % 20. Åland  Finland 35,700 143.0 %

Rank NUTS-1 Region Member state GDP per capita in Euros As % of EU-27 average 1. Luxembourg  Luxembourg 68,500 275.2% 2. Bruxelles-Cap., Brussels Hfdst.  Belgium 55,000 220.9 % 3. London  United Kingdom 49,100 197.0 % 4. Hamburg  Germany 47,800 192.0 % 5. Île-de-France  France 42,000 168.7 % 6. Bremen  Germany 39,500 158.6 % 7. Ireland  Ireland 36,900 148.1% 8. West-Nederland  Netherlands 35,700 143.4 % 9. Åland  Finland 35,700 143.0 % 10. Hessen  Germany 34,700 139.3 % 11. Östra Sverige  Sweden 34,600 138.8 % 12. Madrid  Spain 34,100 136.8 % 13. Bayern  Germany 33,900 136.1 % 14. Baden-Württemberg  Germany 32,600 130.8 % 15. Zuid-Nederland  Netherlands 32,300 129.6 % 16. Ostösterreich  Austria 32,000 128.3 % 17. Αττικής  Greece 31,900 128.1 % 18. Noreste  Spain 31,800 127.7 % 19. Westösterreich  Austria 31,500 126.3 % 20. Nord Ovest  Italy 31,400 125.9 %

Source: Eurostat^[13]

[edit] Economically weakest NUTS-2 regions

The fifteen lowest regions in the ranking in 2007 were all in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, with the lowest figures recorded in Severozapaden in Bulgaria (26% of the average), followed by Nord-Est in Romania, Severen tsentralen and Yuzhen tsentralen in Bulgaria (all 27%). Among the 66 regions below the 75% level, fifteen were in Poland, seven each in Greece and Romania, six each in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, four each in Italy and Portugal, three in Slovakia, two in France (both overseas departments), one each in Spain, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.^[13]

Rank NUTS-2 Region Member state GDP per capita in Euros As % of EU-27 average 1. Северозападен  Bulgaria 6,400 25.6 % 2. Nord-Est  Romania 6,600 26.6 % 3. Северен цeнтpалeн  Bulgaria 6,600 26.7 % 4. Южeн цeнтpалeн  Bulgaria 6,800 27.2 % 5. Югоизтoчен  Bulgaria 7,600 30.7 % 6. Североизтoчен  Bulgaria 8,100 32.4 % 7. Sud-Vest Oltenia  Romania 8,100 32.7 % 8. Sud-Est  Romania 8,400 33.8 % 9. Sud - Muntenia  Romania 8,500 34.2 % 10. Podkarpackie  Poland 9,100 36.7 % 11. Lubelskie  Poland 9,200 36.9 % 12. Észak Alföld  Hungary 9,800 39.4 % 13. Észak Magyaroszág  Hungary 10,000 40.1 % 13. Nord-Vest  Romania 10,000 40.2 % 15. Podlaskie  Poland 10,100 40.4 % 16. Warmińsko-Mazurskie  Poland 10,100 40.5 % 17. Dél Alföld  Hungary 10,400 41.8 % 18. Świętokrzyskie  Poland 10,400 41.9 % 19. Centru  Romania 10,500 42.2 % 20. Dél Dunántúl  Hungary 10,600 42.7 %

Rank NUTS-1 Region Member state GDP per capita in Euros As % of EU-27 average 1. Севернa и Изтoчнa България  Bulgaria 7,200 29.0 % 2. Macroregiunea Doi  Romania 7,400 29.7 % 3. Region Wschodni  Poland 9,600 38.4 % 4. Macroregiunea Patru  Romania 9,900 39.8 % 5. Alföld és Észak  Hungary 10,100 40.4 % 6. Macroregiunea Unu  Romania 10,300 41.2 % 7. Югозападнa и Южнa Цeнтpалнa България  Bulgaria 11,800 47.3 % 8. Region Północny  Poland 12,000 48.0 % 9. Region Południowy  Poland 13,300 53.2 % 10. Region Północno-Zachodni  Poland 13,300 53.3 % 11. Dunántúl  Hungary 13,500 54.4 % 12. Region Południowo-Zachodni  Poland 13,800 55.5 % 13. Latvia  Latvia 13,900 55.7% 14. Macroregiunea Trei  Romania 14,400 57.6 % 15. Lithuania  Lithuania 14,800 59.3% 16. Départements d'Outre-Mer  France 16,600 66.7 % 17. Açores  Portugal 16,800 67.6 % 18. Sud  Italy 17,100 68.6 % 19. Estonia  Estonia 17,100 68.8% 20. Isole  Italy 17,200 69.1 %

Source: Eurostat^[13]

[edit] Richest & Poorest NUTS Regions (GDP PPP 2007)

[edit] Richest & Poorest NUTS-2 Regions (GDP PPP 2007) Member State Region GDP per capita in Euros As % of EU-27 average  European Union 24,900 100.0%  Austria 30,600 122.8% Richest Wien 40,600 163.1 % Salzburg 34,700 139.5 % Tirol 31,900 128.2 % Vorarlberg 31,900 128.1 % Oberösterreich 29,900 119.9 % Steiermark 26,400 106.1 % Kärnten 26,100 104.6 % Niederösterreich 24,900 100.1 % Poorest Burgenland 20,300 81.4 %  Belgium 28,800 115.7% Richest Bruxelles-Cap., Brussels Hfdst. 55,000 220.9 % Antwerpen 33,800 135.7 % Vlaams Brabant 30,500 122.6 % Brabant Wallon 27,700 111.3 % West-Vlaanderen 27,400 110.1 % Oost-Vlaanderen 26,100 104.6 % Limburg 23,900 96.2 % Liége 21,200 85.3 % Namur 19,800 79.7 % Luxembourg 19,500 78.1 % Poorest Hainaut 18,700 75.3 %  Bulgaria 9,400 37.7% Richest Югозападен 15,400 62.0 % Североизтoчен 8,100 32.4 % Югоизтoчен 7,600 30.7 % Южeн цeнтpалeн 6,800 27.2 % Северен цeнтpалeн 6,600 26.7 % Poorest Северозападен 6,400 25.6 %  Cyprus 23,300 93.6%  Czech Republic 19,900 80.1% Richest Praha 42,800 171.8 % Střední Čechy 18,700 75.2 % Jihovýchod 17,900 71.7 % Jihozápad 17,700 71.1 % Moravskoslezsko 16,800 67.5 % Severovýchod 16,400 65.9 % Střední Morava 15,500 62.3 % Poorest Severozápad 15,400 61.7 %  Denmark 30,200 121.3% Richest Hovedstaden 37,400 150.3 % Midtjylland 28,700 115.4 % Syddanmark 28,200 113.3 % Nordjylland 27,400 110.0 % Poorest Sjælland 22,800 91.4 %  Estonia 17,100 68.8%  Finland 29,400 118.0% Richest Åland 35,700 143.0 % Etelä-Suomi 33,800 135.6 % Länsi-Suomi 26,100 104.9 % Pohjois-Suomi 25,500 102.3 % Poorest Itä-Suomi 22,100 88.8 %  France 27,000 108.5% Richest Île-de-France 42,000 168.7 % Rhône-Alpes 27,300 109.5 % Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 25,500 102.3 % Alsace 25,500 102.2 % Champagne-Ardenne 24,800 99.7 % Haute-Normandie 24,500 98.4 % Aquitaine 24,500 98.2 % Pays de la Loire 24,300 97.7 % Midi-Pyrénées 24,200 97.3 % Centre 23,700 95.3 % Bretagne 23,600 94.7 % Bourgogne 23,500 94.5 % Auvergne 22,800 91.4 % Poitou-Charentes 22,500 90.4 % Franche-Comté 22,400 90.1 % Lorraine 22,100 88.7 % Basse-Normandie 22,000 88.3 % Nord-Pas-de-Calais 22,000 88.2 % Limousin 21,800 87.7 % Picardie 21,300 85.7 % Languedoc-Roussillon 21,300 85.6 % Corse 21,000 84.5 % Guadeloupe 19,000 76.3 % Martinique 18,700 75.1 % Réunion 15,600 62.5 % Poorest Guyane 12,100 48.7 %  Germany 28,800 115.8% Richest Hamburg 47,800 192.0 % Oberbayern 41,000 164.7 % Bremen 39,500 158.6 % Darmstadt 38,900 156.1 % Stuttgart 35,200 141.4 % Mittelfranken 33,000 132.5 % Karlsruhe 32,900 132.2 % Düsseldorf 31,800 127.6 % Tübingen 31,200 125.3 % Oberpfalz 30,400 122.1 % Schwaben 30,100 120.9 % Köln 29,400 118.0 % Unterfranken 29,300 117.5 % Niederbayern 28,800 115.8 % Kassel 28,700 115.2 % Saarland 28,500 114.5 % Freiburg 28,400 114.2 % Oberfranken 28,200 113.1 % Braunschweig 27,700 111.4 % Hanover 27,600 110.8 % Detmold 27,200 109.4 % Gießen 26,800 107.5 % Rheinhessen-Pfalz 26,500 106.4 % Arnsberg 26,500 106.3 % Weser-Ems 25,200 101.0 % Schleswig-Holstein 24,800 99.5 % Münster 24,500 98.3 % Berlin 24,400 97.8 % Koblenz 24,300 97.5 % Trier 23,500 94.2 % Leipzig 22,100 88.6 % Dresden 21,800 87.7 % Brandenburg-Südwest 21,700 87.3 % Lüneburg 20,800 83.7 % Sachsen-Anhalt 20,800 83.6 % Thüringen 20,700 83.0 % Chemnitz 20,600 82.6 % Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 20,200 81.1 % Poorest Brandenburg-Nordost 19,000 76.1 %  Greece 23,600 94.3% Richest Αττικής 31,900 128.1 % Βορείου Αιγαίου 24,000 96.2 % Στερεάς Ελλάδας 20,900 83.9 % Κρήτης 20,800 83.7 % Δυτικής Μακεδονίας 18,900 75.8 % Πελοποννήσου 18,900 75.7 % Ιονίων Νησιών 18,400 73.9 % Κεντρικής Μακεδονίας 18,000 72.4 % Ηπείρου 17,000 68.3 % Θεσσαλίας 17,000 68.2 % Νοτίου Αιγαίου 16,600 66.6 % Ανατολικής Μακεδονίας και Θράκης 15,500 62.1 % Poorest Δυτικής Ελλάδος 14,900 59.7 %  Hungary 15,600 62.6% Richest Közép Magyarország 25,600 102.9 % Nyugat Dunántúl 15,300 61.5 % Közép Dunántúl 14,500 58.2 % Dél Dunántúl 10,600 42.7 % Dél Alföld 10,400 41.8 % Észak Magyaroszág 10,000 40.1 % Poorest Észak Alföld 9,800 39.4 %  Ireland 36,900 148.1% Richest Southern and Eastern 41,400 166.1 % Poorest Border, Midland and Western 24,700 99.2 %  Italy 25,800 103.4% Richest Lombardia 33,600 134.8 % Bolzano 33,500 134.5 % Emilia–Romagna 31,900 128.0 % Lazio 30,500 122.3 % Trento 30,400 122.0 % Veneto 30,300 121.6 % Valle d’Aosta 29,500 118.6 % Friuli-Venezia Giulia 29,000 116.6 % Piemonte 28,300 113.6 % Toscana 28,100 112.8 % Liguria 26,600 106.8 % Marche 26,300 105.5 % Umbria 24,100 96.9 % Abruzzo 21,200 85.3 % Sardegna 19,500 78.4 % Molise 19,400 77.9 % Basilicata 18,700 75.1 % Puglia 16,600 66.8 % Sicilia 16,400 66.0 % Campania 16,400 65.9 % Poorest Calabria 16,400 65.8 %  Latvia 13,900 55.7%  Lithuania 14,800 59.3%  Luxembourg 68,500 275.2%  Malta 19,000 76.4%  Netherlands 32,900 132.2% Richest Groningen 41,100 164.9 % Utrecht 38,700 155.4 % Noord-Holland 37,400 150.1 % Zuid-Holland 34,000 136.6 % Noord-Brabant 33,500 134.4 % Zeeland 30,300 121.6 % Limburg 29,700 119.4 % Overijssel 28,600 114.7 % Gelderland 28,300 113.5 % Friesland 26,800 107.5 % Flevoland 26,700 107.3 % Poorest Drenthe 25,800 103.6 %  Poland 13,600 54.4% Richest Mazowieckie 21,700 87.1 % Dolnośląskie 14,700 59.2 % Śląskie 14,400 57.8 % Wielkopolskie 14,200 56.9 % Pomorskie 13,300 53.6 % Łódzkie 12,500 50.0 % Zachodniopomorskie 12,200 48.9 % Lubuskie 12,000 48.2 % Kujawsko-Pomorskie 11,800 47.3 % Małopolskie 11,600 46.7 % Opolskie 11,200 45.2 % Świętokrzyskie 10,400 41.9 % Warmińsko-Mazurskie 10,100 40.5 % Podlaskie 10,100 40.4 % Lubelskie 9,200 36.9 % Poorest Podkarpackie 9,100 36.7 %  Portugal 18,800 75.6% Richest Lisboa 26,100 104.7 % Madeira 24,000 96.3 % Algarve 19,800 79.6 % Alentejo 17,900 71.9 % Açores 16,800 67.6 % Centro 16,100 64.4 % Poorest Norte 15,000 60.3 %  Romania 10,400 41.6% Richest Bucureşti - Ilfov 23,000 92.2 % Vest 12,000 48.2 % Centru 10,500 42.2 % Nord-Vest 10,000 40.2 % Sud - Muntenia 8,500 34.2 % Sud-Est 8,400 33.8 % Sud-Vest Oltenia 8,100 32.7 % Poorest Nord-Est 6,600 26.6 %  Slovakia 16,900 67.7% Richest Bratislavský kraj 39,900 160.3 % Západné Slovensko 16,500 66.1 % Stredné Slovensko 13,300 53.3 % Poorest Východné Slovensko 11,500 46.0 %  Slovenia 22,100 88.6% Richest Zahodna Slovenija 26,600 106.7 % Poorest Vzhodna Slovenija 18,200 73.1 %  Spain 26,200 105.0% Richest Madrid 34,100 136.8 % País Vasco 34,100 136.7 % Navarre 32,900 132.2 % Catalonia 30,700 123.3 % Aragón 28,500 114.4 % Illes Balears 28,400 113.8 % La Rioja 27,900 112.0 % Cantabria 26,200 105.4 % Castilla y León 25,300 101.4 % Ceuta 24,200 97.3 % Asturias 24,100 96.9 % Comunitat Valenciana 23,700 95.3 % Melilla 23,500 94.5 % Islas Canarias 23,100 92.8 % Galicia 22,100 88.8 % Murcia 21,600 86.9 % Castilla-La Mancha 20,300 81.5 % Andalucía 20,200 81.2 % Poorest Extremadura 18,000 72.4 %  Sweden 30,600 122.8% Richest Stockholm 41,000 164.6 % Västsverige 29,700 119.1 % Övre Norrland 28,700 115.1 % Sydsverige 27,400 110.1 % Småland med öarna 27,400 110.0 % Mellersta Norrland 27,000 108.3 % Norra Mellansverige 26,900 108.1 % Poorest Östra Mellansverige 26,500 106.2 %  United Kingdom 29,100 116.7% Richest Inner London 83,200 334.2 % Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire 38,900 156.1 % North Eastern Scotland 38,100 152.9 % Gloucestershire, Wiltshire & Bristol 31,900 128.3 % Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire 31,600 127.0 % Cheshire 30,800 123.7 % Surrey, East & West Sussex 30,500 122.4 % Eastern Scotland 29,900 119.9 % Hampshire & Isle of Wight 29,100 116.9 % Leicestershire, Rutland & Northamptonshire 28,500 114.4 % East Anglia 27,500 110.4 % East Wales 27,500 110.3 % Outer London 26,600 106.7 % West Midlands 26,200 105.5 % Greater Manchester 26,200 105.3 % South Western Scotland 25,800 103.6 % West Yorkshire 25,800 103.5 % North Yorkshire 25,200 101.2 % Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Warwickshire 25,100 100.9 % Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire 25,000 100.6 % Essex 24,400 98.0 % Northumberland and Tyne & Wear 24,400 97.8 % Dorset & Somerset 24,200 97.3 % Kent 23,300 93.4 % Northern Ireland 23,100 92.8 % East Riding & Northern Lincolnshire 22,500 90.5 % South Yorkshire 22,500 90.2 % Lancashire 22,400 89.9 % Cumbria 22,300 89.7 % Shropshire & Staffordshire 22,200 89.0 % Devon 22,100 88.6 % Highlands & Islands 21,700 87.2 % Lincolnshire 20,700 83.3 % Merseyside 20,700 83.2 % Tees Valley & Durham 20,300 81.5 % Cornwall & Isles of Scilly 18,700 75.2 % Poorest West Wales & The Valleys 18,300 73.4 %

[edit] Richest & Poorest NUTS-1 Regions (GDP PPP 2007) Member State Region GDP per capita in Euros As % of EU-27 average  European Union 24,900 100.0%  Austria 30,600 122.8% Richest Ostösterreich 32,000 128.3 % Westösterreich 31,500 126.3 % Poorest Südösterreich 26,300 105.6 %  Belgium 28,800 115.7% Richest Bruxelles-Cap., Brussels Hfdst. 55,000 220.9 % Vlaams Gewest 29,000 116.2 % Poorest Région Wallonne 20,700 83.0 %  Bulgaria 9,400 37.7% Richest Югозападнa и Южнa Цeнтpалнa България 11,800 47.3 % Poorest Севернa и Изтoчнa България 7,200 29.0 %  Cyprus 23,300 93.6%  Czech Republic 19,900 80.1%  Denmark 30,200 121.3%  Estonia 17,100 68.8%  Finland 29,400 118.0% Richest Åland 35,700 143.0 % Poorest Manner-Suomi 29,400 117.9 %  France 27,000 108.5% Richest Île-de-France 42,000 168.7 % Centre-est 26,500 106.2 % Sud-ouest 24,100 96.7 % Méditerranée 23,900 96.0 % Ouest 23,700 95.1 % Bassin parisien 23,300 93.7 % Est 23,300 93.6 % Nord-Pas-de-Calais 22,000 88.2 % Poorest Départements d'Outre-Mer 16,600 66.7 %  Germany 28,800 115.8% Richest Hamburg 47,800 192.0 % Bremen 39,500 158.6 % Hessen 34,700 139.3 % Bayern 33,900 136.1 % Baden-Württemberg 32,600 130.8 % Nordrhein-Westfalen 28,500 114.6 % Saarland 28,500 114.5 % Niedersachsen 25,400 102.1 % Rheinland-Pfalz 25,300 101.5 % Schleswig-Holstein 24,800 99.5 % Berlin 24,400 97.8 % Sachsen 21,400 86.1 % Sachsen-Anhalt 20,800 83.6 % Thüringen 20,700 83.0 % Brandenburg 20,500 82.2 % Poorest Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 20,200 81.1 %  Greece 23,600 94.3% Richest Αττικής 31,900 128.1 % Νησιά Αιγαίου, Κρήτη 20,900 84.1 % Κεντρικής Ελλάδος 17,800 71.6 % Poorest Νοτίαυ Ελλάδος 17,500 70.1 %  Hungary 15,600 62.6% Richest Közép Magyarország 25,600 102.9 % Dunántúl 13,500 54.4 % Poorest Alföld és Észak 10,100 40.4 %  Ireland 36,900 148.1%  Italy 25,800 103.4% Richest Nord Ovest 31,400 125.9 % Nord Est 30,900 124.1 % Centro 28,700 115.2 % Isole 17,200 69.1 % Poorest Sud 17,100 68.6 %  Latvia 13,900 55.7%  Lithuania 14,800 59.3%  Luxembourg 68,500 275.2%  Malta 19,000 76.4%  Netherlands 32,900 132.2% Richest West-Nederland 35,700 143.4 % Zuid-Nederland 32,300 129.6 % Noord-Nederland 31,300 125.7 % Poorest Oost-Nederland 28,200 113.2 %  Poland 13,600 54.4% Richest Region Centralny 18,600 74.9 % Region Południowo-Zachodni 13,800 55.5 % Region Północno-Zachodni 13,300 53.3 % Region Południowy 13,300 53.2 % Region Północny 12,000 48.0 % Poorest Region Wschodni 9,600 38.4 %  Portugal 18,800 75.6% Richest Madeira 24,000 96.3 % Continente 18,700 75.3 % Poorest Açores 16,800 67.6 %  Romania 10,400 41.6% Richest Macroregiunea Trei 14,400 57.6 % Macroregiunea Unu 10,300 41.2 % Macroregiunea Patru 9,900 39.8 % Poorest Macroregiunea Doi 7,400 29.7 %  Slovakia 16,900 67.7%  Slovenia 22,100 88.6%  Spain 26,200 105.0% Richest Madrid 34,100 136.8 % Noreste 31,800 127.7 % Este 27,900 112.1 % Noroeste 23,100 92.9 % Canarias 23,100 92.8 % Centro 22,100 88.7 % Poorest Sur 20,500 82.2 %  Sweden 30,600 122.8% Richest Östra Sverige 34,600 138.8 % Södra Sverige 28,400 114.2 % Poorest Norra Sverige 27,500 110.2 %  United Kingdom 29,100 116.7% Richest London 49,100 197.0 % South East (England) 31,000 124.3 % Scotland 28,100 112.7 % East of England 27,800 111.6 % South West (England) 26,600 106.8 % East Midlands (England) 25,700 103.0 % West Midlands (England) 24,800 99.6 % North West (England) 24,700 99.2 % Yorkshire & the Humber 24,300 97.5 % Northern Ireland 23,100 92.8 % North East (England) 22,500 90.4 % Poorest Wales 21,600 86.9 %

Source: Eurostat^[13]

[edit] References

1. ^ "EU budget at a glance". Europa, EU information website. http://ec.europa.eu/budget/budget_glance/where_from_en.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-06. 
2. ^ "General government gross debt". Eurostat. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tsieb090. Retrieved 2009-04-24. 
3. ^ "Government deficit as percent of GDP". http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-22042010-BP/EN/2-22042010-BP-EN.PDF. 
4. ^ :"Annual Inflation". http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?debttab=table&language=en&pcode=tsieb060&tableSelection=1&footnotes=yes&labeling=labels&plugin=1. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Unemployment in the EU". http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=0,1136184,0_45572592&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTALv. 
6. ^ "World trade report 2009". WTO information website. http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/anrep_e/world_trade_report09_e.pdf. 
7. ^ Se-jeong, Kim (2009-07-19). "EU-Korea FTA Will Be a Long Process: Greek Ambassador". The Korea Times. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2009/07/139_48696.html. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 
8. ^ "Euro Area unemployment up to 8.2%". http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/PGP_PRD_CAT_PREREL/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2009/PGE_CAT_PREREL_YEAR_2009_MONTH_02/3-27022009-EN-AP.PDF. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Euro area unemployment down - 2006". 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. 
10. ^ http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-30042009-BP/EN/3-30042009-BP-EN.PDF
11. ^ http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/qualityoflife/eurlife/index.php?template=3&radioindic=158&idDomain=3
12. ^ DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica Smith (August 2008). "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007". U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-13. 
13. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Eurostat (18 February 2010). "Regional GDP per inhabitant in 2007". Europa web portal. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/1-18022010-AP/EN/1-18022010-AP-EN.PDF. Retrieved 19 February 2010. 

• ^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.
• "Euro-indicators News release". June 2005 inflation data. 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. Retrieved 18 July 2005. 
• "Euro-indicators News release". May 2005 unemployment data. 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. Retrieved 18 July 2005. 
• "World Bank". GNI data (July 2005). http://www.worldbank.org/data/quickreference/quickref.html. Retrieved 4 August 2005. 

The following links are used for the GDP growth and GDP totals (IMF):

• Link to 10 new memberstates Growth Rates
• Link to Growth Rates for the Eurozone
• Link to non-Eurozone EU15 countries Growth Rates

[edit] See also

	Book:European Union
Books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• European Economic Recovery Plan
• Sapir Report
• Third-country economic relationships with the European Union

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_European_Union