Economy - overview:
Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $9,000 to $56,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, since 2003 Germany and France have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004 and 2007, the EU admitted, respectively, 10 and two central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the other 15. Twelve established EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999, but the UK, Sweden, and Denmark chose not to participate. Of the 12 new member states, only Slovenia has adopted the euro (1 January 2007). The others may choose to adopt the currency when they meet the EU's fiscal and monetary criteria and the other euro states so agree.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$12.82 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$13.62 trillion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$29,300 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.1%
industry: 27.3%
services: 70.5% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
221.5 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 4.4%
industry: 27.3%
services: 67%
note: the remainder is in miscellaneous public and private sector industries and services (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
8.8% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
see individual country listings

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1995 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
32 (2003 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.2% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
20.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
2.8% (2006 est.)

Electricity - production:
2.98 trillion kWh (2004 est.)

Electricity - consumption:
2.77 trillion kWh (2004 est.)

Electricity - exports:
278.7 billion kWh

Electricity - imports:
277.1 billion kWh

Oil - production:
3.172 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption:
14.7 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports:
5.318 million bbl/day

Oil - imports:
15.74 million bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
7.335 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
238.1 billion cu m (2004)

Natural gas - consumption:
507.4 billion cu m (2004)

Natural gas - exports:
78.89 billion cu m

Natural gas - imports:
347.7 billion cu m

Natural gas - proved reserves:
3.219 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance:
$NA

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

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

Exports - partners:
US 23.3%, Switzerland 7.6%, Russia 5.2%, China 4.8% (2005)

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

Imports - commodities:
machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing

Imports - partners:
US 13.8%, China 13.4%, Russia 8.2%, Japan 6.2% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$NA

Currency (code):
euro, British pound, Bulgarian lev, Cypriot pound, Czech koruna, Danish krone, Estonian kroon, Hungarian forint, Latvian lat, Lithuanian litas, Maltese lira, Polish zloty, Romanian leu, Slovak koruna, Slovenian tolar, Swedish krona

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.79669 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002)