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European Union statistics

European Union statistics

Overview


As of 1 January 2006, the population of the EU was about 493 million people. Many countries are expected to experience a decline in population over the coming decades,, though this could be offset with new countries planning to join the EU within the next 20 years. The most populous member state is Germany, with an estimated 82 million people. France and Ireland have the highest birth-rates.
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Institutional statistics


Area and population


As of 1 January 2006, the population of the EU was about 493 million people. Many countries are expected to experience a decline in population over the coming decades,, though this could be offset with new countries planning to join the EU within the next 20 years. The most populous member state is Germany, with an estimated 82 million people. France and Ireland have the highest birth-rates. The most densely populated
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....

 country is the island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, .There are two main types of islands:...

 of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...

, which is also the smallest, while the largest in area is France
France
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...

. The least densely populated country is Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...

.

Population figures in the table below are the latest available for each country (some are 2006 estimates, others are 2007 estimates). The highest and lowest figures in each column have been marked in bold.

Member State Population
in millions
Population
% of EU
Area
km2
Area
% of EU
Pop. density
People/km2
494.8 100% 4,422,773 100% 112
8.3 1.7% 83,858 1.9% 99
10.5 2.1% 30,510 0.7% 344
7.7 1.6% 110,912 2.5% 70
0.8 0.2% 9,250 0.2% 84
10.3 2.1% 78,866 1.8% 131
5.4 1.1% 43,094 1.0% 126
1.4 0.3% 45,226 1.0% 29
5.3 1.1% 337,030 7.6% 16
64.1 13.0% 643,548 14.6% 99
82.3 16.6% 357,021 8.1% 231
11.1 2.2% 131,940 3.0% 84
10.1 2.0% 93,030 2.1% 108
4.2 0.8% 70,280 1.6% 60
58.8 11.9% 301,320 6.8% 195
2.3 0.5% 64,589 1.5% 35
3.4 0.7% 65,200 1.5% 52
0.5 0.1% 2,586 0.1% 181
0.4 0.1% 316 0.0% 1,261
16.4 3.3% 41,526 0.9% 394
38.1 7.7% 312,685 7.1% 122
10.6 2.1% 92,931 2.1% 114
21.6 4.4% 238,391 5.4% 91
44.7 9.0% 504,782 11.4% 87
5.4 1.1% 48,845 1.1% 111
2.0 0.4% 20,253 0.5% 99
9.1 1.8% 449,964 10.2% 20
60.7 12.3% 244,820 5.5% 246


Languages


For statistics relating to languages spoken in the European Union, please see Languages of the European Union
Languages of the European Union
The languages of the European Union are languages used by people within the member states of the European Union. They include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others...

.
Additional languages:
  • Slovenian - Spoken in Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Austria and Croatia
  • Irish is the official language of Ireland since 2007-01-01 (Treaties have been published and authenticated in Irish since 1973.)
  • Maltese must be incorporated as an official language by April 30, 2007.

EU budget


The primary resource for funding the European Union is the contributions sought from member states. Each member state contributes to the EU budget, and receives funding back from the EU, depending on the relative wealth of the states, i.e. their ability to pay.

The table below shows the contributions as a percentage of the total budget. This takes into account the special considerations given to the United Kingdom to reduce its contribution through a rebate
UK rebate
The UK rebate is a rebate on the United Kingdom's contribution to the EU budget paid back to the UK government by the European Union.-History:...

. Expenditure in Luxembourg, Belgium and France include items for the EU administrative centres in each of those countries.

Member State Total Contribution
in Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain...

Total Contribution
as % of total EU budget
Total Expenditure
year 2006 in Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain...

Total Expenditure
as % of total EU budget
105 259 468 772 100.00% 106 575 500 000 100.00%
22 218 438 941 21.11% 12 242 400 000 11.49%
17 303 107 859 16.44% 13 496 200 000 12.66%
14 359 479 157 13.64% 10 922 300 000 10.25%
13 739 900 046 13.05% 8 294 200 000 7.78%
8 957 286 488 8.51% 12 883 000 000 12.09%
5 552 933 781 5.28% 2 190 400 000 2.06%
4 035 286 807 3.83% 5 625 100 000 5.28%
2 832 862 800 2.69% 1 573 400 000 1.48%
2 308 432 030 2.19% 1 830 100 000 1.72%
2 130 860 212 2.02% 1 501 900 000 1.41%
2 099 087 114 1.99% 5 305 600 000 4.98%
1 882 611 879 1.79% 6 833 700 000 6.41%
1 544 832 284 1.47% 1 280 400 000 1.20%
1 443 049 602 1.37% 3 634 800 000 3.41%
1 341 281 313 1.27% 2 461 800 000 2.31%
1 003 119 411 0.95% 1 842 200 000 1.73%
932 392 859 0.89% 1 330 000 000 1.25%
393 148 777 0.37% 696 200 000 0.65%
299 993 572 0.29% 406 000 000 0.38%
241 439 011 0.23% 1 194 800 000 1.12%
221 997 405 0.21% 799 800 000 0.75%
144 556 416 0.14% 239 600 000 0.22%
115 205 431 0.11% 402 600 000 0.24%
100 756 308 0.10% 300 000 000 0.28%
57 409 269 0.05% 157 000 000 0.14%
360 600 000 0.34%
693 100 000 0.65%


Proportion of non-EU nationals


In most EU cities, there is a proportion of its inhabitants which are not nationals of the European Union.

Top 10 Cities
Rank City Proportion
%
1 Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies a surface of in which 405,867 inhabitants live. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki.-Historical names:...

, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...

 
27.8
2 Cayenne
Cayenne
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas région and département of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast....

, French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas department of France, located on the northern coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil and Suriname. Like the other DOMs, French Guiana is also an overseas region of France, one of the 26 regions of France. Its currency is the euro...

 (France
France
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...

)
22.7
3 Athens
Athens
Athens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....

 
16.7
4 Frankfurt, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

 
16.3
5 Munich
Munich
Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

 
16.2
6 Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...

, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...

 
14.4
7 Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria in Germany. It is a College town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

 
14.3
8 Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

 
14.0
9 Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwestern Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

 
13.9
10 Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

 
13.5
Bottom 10 Cities
Rank City Proportion
%
1 Konin
Konin, Poland
Konin is a town on the Warta river in central Poland. It is the capital of Konin County. Since 1999, it has been in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Previously, it was the capital of Konin Voivodeship .Konin has 81,233 inhabitants ....

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.0
= Suwałki, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.0
= Żory
Zory
Żory is a town in southern Poland with 62,625 inhabitants .Since 1999 it has been part of Silesian Voivodeship; it was previously in Katowice Voivodeship .- History :...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.0
2 Kielce
Kielce
Kielce is a city in south eastern Poland with 202,609 inhabitants . It is also the capital city of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship since 1999, previously in Kielce Voivodeship...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.1
= Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city in west-central Poland with over 557,264 inhabitants . Located on the Warta River, it is one of the oldest cities in Poland, making it an important historical centre and a vibrant centre of trade, industry, and education. Poznań is Poland's fifth largest city and fourth biggest...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.1
= Toruń
Torun
Toruń is a city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River, with population over 207,190 as of 2006, making it the second-largest city of Kujawy-Pomerania Province, after Bydgoszcz. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.1
= Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,462 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.1
= Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river, with 125,780 inhabitants . Since 1999, it is one of the two capitals of Lubusz Voivodeship ; previously, it was the capital of the Gorzów Voivodeship .The biggest oil fields in Poland are located near Gorzów.- Etymology :The...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.1
= Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk, also known by its German name Danzig , is a city on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area....

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.1
= Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about 50 km on north from the Silesian Beskids and about 100 km on south-east from Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Metropolitan...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 
0.1


Freedom and governance-related rankings


There are many indices available on issues such as corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

, development
Economic development
Economic development is the increase in the standard of living of a nation's population associated with sustained growth from a simple, low-income economy to a modern, high-income economy...

, and freedom
Freedom (political)
Political freedom is the absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual by the use of coercion or aggression.The opposite of a free society is a totalitarian state, which highly restricts political freedom in order to regulate almost every aspect of behavior...

.

Freedom of the press

EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
1 1
2 4
= =
= =
5 7
= =
= =
= =
9 14
= =
11 16
= =
= =
= =
EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
15 20
16 23
= =
18 30
19 31
= =
21 35
22 36
23 44
24 47
= 47
26 59

Reporters sans frontières conducts an annual survey on the freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press consists ofconstitutional or statutory protections pertaining to the media and published materials.With respect to governmental information, any government distinguishes which materials are public or protected from disclosure to the public based on classification of information...

 and produces scores (not shown here) for each country. In 2008, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small, landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany...

 had the freest press in the European Union, with a score of 1.50, while Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...

 was ranked as having the least free press, with a score of 12.50.

There is no data available for Malta
Malta
Malta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...

, and hence it is not included in the statistics.

Economic freedom

EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
1 3
2 8
3 10
4 12
5 13
6 15
7 17
8 20
9 23
10 24
11 25
12 26
13 29
14 30
EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
15 36
16 37
17 44
18 45
19 47
20 53
21 56
22 64
23 65
24 68
25 76
26 81
27 82

An index of Economic Freedom
Index of Economic Freedom
The Index of Economic Freedom is a series of 10 economic measurements created by the Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal. Its stated objective is to measure the degree of economic freedom in the world's nations.- History :...

 is produced by the Wall Street Journal and the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C.The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose policies drew significantly from Heritage's policy study Mandate for Leadership. Heritage has since continued to...

. It uses 50 different variables to compile the survey, in areas such as trade
Trade
Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. Trade is also called commerce or transaction. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Later one side of the barter were the metals, precious...

 policy and government
Government
A government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....

 intervention. Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...

 ranks highest amongst EU nations in terms of these variables.

A similar index produced by the World Economic Forum
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland which brings together top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world...

 is its Global Competitiveness Index.

Source: 2009 Index of Economic Freedom.
Colour Codes
Free
Mostly Free
Moderately Free
Mostly Unfree


Perception of corruption

EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
1 =1
= =1
3 =5
4 =7
5 11
6 =12
7 =14
8 =16
9 =16
10 =18
11 =23
12 26
13 27
14 =28
EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
15 31
16 32
17 =36
18 =45
19 =47
20 =52
= =52
22 =55
23 57
24 =58
25 =58
26 =70
27 =72

Transparency International
Transparency International
Transparency International is an international non-governmental organization addressing corruption . This includes, but is not limited to, political corruption. It is widely known for producing its annual Corruptions Perceptions Index , a comparative listing of corruption worldwide. The...

 is an international NGO
Non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization is a term that has become widely accepted as referring to a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government...

 publishing an annual Global Corruption Report
Global Corruption Report
The Global Corruption Report is an annual report, covering the period from July to June, which provides analysis on the level of corruption across several nations of the world. The report is produced by Transparency International and in 2007 is in its sixth year of publication. It began in 2001...

 indicating the perception of corruption
around the world. The rankings of the table refer to the Corruption Perceptions Index 2008.

Human development

EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
1 5
2 6
3 7
4 9
5 11
6 12
7 13
8 14
9 16
10 17
11 18
12 19
13 21
14 23
EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
15 26
16 30
17 33
18 35
19 36
20 38
21 39
22 41
24 42
23 43
25 44
26 56
27 62

The Human Development Index
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is an index used to rank countries by level of "human development", which usually also implies whether a country is developed, developing, or underdeveloped.-Summary:...

 is a measure produced by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...

 which covers three aspects of human development:
  • poverty
    Poverty
    Poverty is the condition of lacking basic human needs such as nutrition, clean water, health care, clothing, and shelter because of the inability to afford them. This is also referred to as absolute poverty or destitution...

     (GDP
    Gross domestic product
    The gross domestic product or gross domestic income is a basic measure of a country's economic performance and is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year...

     per capita)
  • education
    Education
    Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...

     (literacy
    Literacy
    Literacy is a concept claimed and defined by a range of different theoretical fields. In everyday terms, "literacy" is typically described as the ability to read and write...

     rate)
  • health
    Health
    At the of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, Health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"....

     (life expectancy
    Life expectancy
    Life expectancy is the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience...

    )

The rankings of the table refer to the UNDP Human Development Report 2008 (2006 data). The UN lists all 27 EU member states as countries with high human development.

Income equality

EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
1 2
2 4
3 5
4 6
5 10
= 10
7 14
8 15
9 18
10 19
11 25
12 26
EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
13 32
14 33
15 40
= 40
17 44
18 47
19 50
20 51
= 51
= 51
23 57
24 59


Income inequality
Income inequality metrics
The concept of inequality is distinct from that of poverty and fairness . Income inequality metrics or income distribution metrics are used by social scientists to measure the distribution of income, and economic inequality among the participants in a particular economy, such as that of a specific...

, measured by the gini coefficient
Gini coefficient
The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper "Variability and Mutability" . It is commonly used as a measure of inequality of income or wealth...

 is how evenly incomes are distributed through the population. Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...

 has the least income inequality with a gini coefficient score of 24.4, whilst Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...

 has the most income inequality with a score of 38.5. Malta
Malta
Malta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...

, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small, landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany...

, and Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....

 have no statistics available, and so are not included in this table. These statistics have been compiled by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...

 (see http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006)


Ease of doing business

EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
1 5
2 6
3 7
4 14
5 17
6 19
7 22
8 25
9 26
10 27
11 28
12 29
13 31
EU
Rank
Member State Global
Rank
14 36
15 41
16 45
17 47
18 48
19 49
20 50
21 54
22 65
23 75
24 76
25 96


The Ease of Doing Business Index
Ease of Doing Business Index
The Ease of Doing Business Index is an index created by the World Bank. Higher rankings indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights...

 is created by the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...

 and based on the study of laws and regulations, with the input and verification by more than 3,500 government officials, lawyers, business consultants, accountants and other professionals who routinely advise on or administer legal and regulatory requirements.

See also


  • Enlargement of the European Union
    Enlargement of the European Union
    Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union through the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951...

  • European Union
    European Union
    The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...

  • Eurostat
    Eurostat
    Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the harmonisation of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...

     - European statistics body
  • Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits
    Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits
    This is a list of the largest cities in the European Union by population within city limits which have more than 300,000 inhabitants. It deals exclusively with the areas within city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas, which are generally larger in terms of...

  • List of European Union member states by population
  • Largest urban areas of the European Union
    Largest urban areas of the European Union
    This is a list of all the urban areas of the European Union which have more than 750,000 inhabitants in 2005.This list is an attempt to present a consistent list of population figures for urban areas in the European Union. All the figures here have been compiled by Demographia.-Important notes:*...

     and Larger Urban Zones (LUZ) in the European Union
  • OSCE countries statistics

Sources


External links