Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: eurostat

  • EU electricity consumption down by 10.5% in May 2020

    EU electricity consumption down by 10.5% in May 2020

    Eurostat May data show lower electricity consumption in most Member States. The total EU electricity consumption in May 2020 was 10.5% lower than the lowest May value recorded between 2016 and 2019.

    Electricity consumption in May 2020 showed very low levels in a number of countries, in particular in Spain and Poland (both -13.7% compared with May 2019), Slovenia (-13.4%), Croatia (-11.9%), Romania (-11.8%) and Portugal (-11.6%).

    A further nine Member States showed reductions of 5% to 10%, while for six Member States the drop was between 1% and 5%.

    In two Member States (Bulgaria and Latvia) the situation was stable (+/- 1%), while in the remaining four Member States electricity consumption grew.

  • Germany was the EU’s main producer of ice cream in 2019

    Germany was the EU’s main producer of ice cream in 2019

    In 2019, the EU produced more than 3 billion litres of ice cream, representing a 6% increase from the previous year, Eurostat says.

    Over the same period, EU Member States exported 222 thousand tonnes of ice cream to non-EU countries, worth a total of €723 million. In addition, imports of ice cream from countries outside the EU amounted to 82 thousand tonnes, worth a total of €180 million.

    Germany was the EU’s main producer of ice cream

    Among the EU Member States, Germany was the main producer of ice cream in 2019, producing 635 million litres of ice cream (amounting to 21% of the EU’s total ice cream production).

    Italy produced 554 million litres (18% of the EU’s total ice cream production). Meanwhile 2018 data show that France produced 451 million litres that year (or 15% of total production in 2019).

    France exported the most ice cream to countries outside the EU

    France exported a total of 55 thousand tonnes of ice cream in 2019, accounting for 25% of total extra-EU ice cream exports.

    This made it the largest ice cream exporter out of all EU Member States, ahead of the Netherlands (which exported 35 thousand tonnes of ice cream, or 16% of total extra-EU exports), Germany (29 thousand tonnes, or 13%), Italy (18 thousand tonnes, or 8%) and Spain (16 thousand tonnes, or 7%).

    UK main destination and source of EU’s exports and imports of ice cream

    The United Kingdom (UK) was the main destination for the EU’s exports of ice cream to non-EU countries. The EU Member States exported 128 thousand tonnes of ice cream to the UK (58% of total extra-EU ice cream exports).

    Other main destinations were Switzerland (12 thousand tonnes, or 5%) and China (7 thousand tonnes, or 3%).

    Imports of ice cream from non-EU countries came mainly from the United Kingdom (57 thousand tonnes of ice cream, or 70% of extra-EU ice cream imports), Serbia (16 thousand tonnes, or 19%) and Switzerland (2 thousand tonnes, or 2%).

  • EU member states exported almost 1 million bicycles and other cycles

    EU member states exported almost 1 million bicycles and other cycles

    In 2019, EU member states exported almost 1 million bicycles and other cycles, worth a total of €368 million, to countries outside of the EU.

    This represents a 24% increase in numbers compared with 2012, says Eurostat.

    Over the same period, EU member states imported over 5 million bicycles, worth €942 million, from countries outside the EU. Compared with 2012, this represents a decrease of 12%.

    EU states exported almost 200.000 electric bicycles

    In addition, EU member states exported 191.900 electric bicycles worth €272 million in 2019 (the data include bicycles with pedal assistance and an auxiliary electric motor with a continuous rated power less than 250 W).

    Meanwhile, they imported 703.900 electric bicycles, worth €594 million, from countries outside the EU.

    Compared with 2012, the number of exported electric bicycles was almost twelve times higher in 2019, while imports of electric bicycles doubled.

    Main extra-EU destinations: the UK and Switzerland

    In 2019, the United Kingdom was the main destination of EU bicycles (36% of total extra-EU bicycle exports), followed by Switzerland (18%), ahead of Turkey (6%), Uzbekistan and Norway (both 4%).

    Meanwhile, Switzerland and the United Kingdom were the main destinations for EU exports of electric bicycles (33% and 29% of total extra-EU electric bicycle exports respectively), followed by Norway (15%) and the United States (13%).

    A quarter of EU’s imported bicycles from Cambodia, a half of electric bicycles from Taiwan

    In 2019, imports of bicycles from non-EU countries came mainly from Cambodia (24% of total extra-EU bicycle imports), Taiwan (15%) and China (14%), followed by Philippines (9%), Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (both 7%).

    While imports of electric bicycles into the EU came primarily from Taiwan (52% of total extra-EU electric bicycle imports), followed by Vietnam (21%), China (13%) and Switzerland (6%).

  • Young people in the EU left the parental household at the age of 26.2 years

    Young people in the EU left the parental household at the age of 26.2 years

    In 2019, the share of young people aged 25 to 34 who were living with their parents ranged across the EU Member States from less than 10% in Denmark (4.0%), Finland (4.8%) and Sweden (5.7%), to more than half in Slovakia (56.4% in 2018), Greece (57.8%) and Croatia (62.0%).

    On average, young people in the EU left the parental household at the age of 26.2 years in 2019. However, this age varied significantly across the EU Member States, Eurostat shows.

    In 2019, young people left home earliest in the three northern Member States – Sweden (17.8 years), Denmark (21.1 years) and Finland (21.8 years), as well as in Luxembourg (20.1 years).

    Young people also left home before the age of 25 in Estonia (22.2 years), France (23.6 years), Germany and the Netherlands (both with 23.7 years).

    In the southern EU Member States young people move out at around 30

    At the other side of the scale, young adults in Croatia and Slovakia remained the longest in the parental household. They left home on average at the age of 31.8 and 30.9 years respectively.

    Young adults in Italy (30.1 years), Bulgaria (30.0 years), Malta (29.9 years), Spain (29.5 years), Portugal (29.0 years) and Greece (28.9 years) also remained with their parents for longer.

    Men stay longer at parental home than women

    In almost all EU Member States, young women tended to leave the parental household earlier than men. The only exception was Luxembourg (20.3 years for women, compared with 20.0 years for men).

    The largest differences between the genders were registered in Romania (25.7 years for women, compared with 30.3 for men), Bulgaria (27.6 vs. 32.1), Croatia (29.9 vs. 33.6), Latvia (24.8 vs. 28.1), Hungary (25.8 vs. 28.5) and Slovakia (29.6 vs. 32.1).

  • Portugal is the biggest producer of bicycles in European Union

    Portugal is the biggest producer of bicycles in European Union

    In 2019, the EU produced over 11.4 million bicycles. This represents a 5% increase on the previous year and 10% higher than the number produced in 2014.

    The total production of bicycles peaked at 13.7 million in 2015, 17% higher than the number produced in 2019.

    Among EU Member States, Portugal was the largest producer of bicycles in 2019, manufacturing 2.7 million bicycles, followed by Italy (2.1 million), Germany (1.5 million), Poland (0.9 million) and the Netherlands (0.7 million).

    These five countries together accounted for 70% of total EU production of bicycles in 2019.

  • Retail trade volumes back to February 2020 levels in Europe

    Retail trade volumes back to February 2020 levels in Europe

    In June 2020, a month marked by some relaxation of COVID-19 containment measures in many EU member states, the volume of retail trade increased by 5.2% compared with May 2020 and by 1.3% compared with the previous year.

    Overall, retail trade volumes returned to the levels recorded in February 2020, before the start of the containment measures, although the trend varies across product groups.

    In June 2020, the sales of food, drinks and tobacco were similar to their February levels (1.3% below February 2020), whereas for some non-food product groups there was still a sizeable gap between now and before the COVID-19 containment measures.

    In particular, June sales of textiles, clothing and footwear accounted for only about three quarters of what was sold in February (22.4% below February 2020).

    Although to a smaller extent, June sales of automotive fuels (-12.5%), computer equipment and books (-8.3%) as well as pharmaceutical and medical goods (-5.9%) also remained below their February 2020 levels.

    In contrast, mail orders and internet volume increased by 17.4% compared to February 2020.

  • Impact of COVID-19 on household consumption and savings in EU

    Impact of COVID-19 on household consumption and savings in EU

    Eurostat shows that the household saving rate in the EU recorded its all-time highest year-over-year increase in the first quarter of 2020 (+3.5 percentage points (pp) compared with the first quarter of 2019).

    The main reason is the marked year-over-year decrease of household final consumption expenditure (-1.7%), in stark contrast with its recent increases above 2%.

    Additionally, the increase of household gross disposable income (+2.4%) also contributed to the increase of the saving rate.

    The household saving rate has increased in all EU Member States for which data are available for the first quarter of 2020. Among the EU Member States, the highest year-over-year increase was observed in Slovenia (+7.7 pp), followed by Poland (+6.8 pp) and Spain (+6.7 pp).

    In contrast, the lowest increase was recorded in Sweden (+1.1 pp), Czechia (+2.0 pp) and Germany (+2.2 pp).

    The largest decreases of household expenditure were observed in Italy (-6.4%), Slovenia (-5.3%) and Spain (-5.2%).

    On the other hand, in six EU Member States, the household individual consumption expenditure increased when compared with 2019Q1, the largest increases in Poland (+5.1%) and Czechia (+4.0%).

  • Euro zone unemployment at 7.8%, EU at 7.1% in June 2020

    Euro zone unemployment at 7.8%, EU at 7.1% in June 2020

    In June 2020 the euro area unemployment rate was 7.8%, up from 7.7% in May 2020. The EU unemployment rate was 7.1% in June 2020, up from 7.0% in May 2020.

    Eurostat estimates that 15.023 million men and women in the EU, of whom 12.685 million in the Euro area, were unemployed in June 2020.

    Compared with May 2020, the number of persons unemployed increased by 281.000 in the EU and by 203.000 in the euro area.

    Youth unemployment

    In June 2020, 2.962 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.360 million were in the euro area.

    In June 2020, the youth unemployment rate was 16.8% in the EU and 17.0% in the euro area, up from 16.2% and 16.5% respectively in the previous month. Compared with May 2020, youth unemployment increased by 124 000 in the EU and by 80 000 in the euro area.

    Unemployment by gender

    In June 2020, the unemployment rate for women was 7.5% in the EU, up from 7.3% in May 2020.

    The unemployment rate for men was 6.7% in June 2020, up from 6.6% in May 2020. In the euro area, the unemployment rate for women increased from 8.1% in May 2020 to 8.3% in June 2020 while it increased from 7.3% to 7.4% for men.

  • Sharpest drop of household real consumption per capita in EU

    Sharpest drop of household real consumption per capita in EU

    In the first quarter of 2020 household real consumption per capita dropped by 3.0% in the euro area, after a decrease of 0.4% in the previous quarter.

    This decline is the highest since the beginning of the Eurostat time series in 1999.

    Household real income per capita increased in the first quarter of 2020 by 1.1%, after a decrease of 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2019.

    In the EU household real consumption per capita decreased by 2.9% in the first quarter of 2020, after a decrease of 0.2% in the previous quarter.

    Household real income per capita increased by 1.2% in the first quarter of 2020, after a decrease of 1.0% in the fourth quarter of 2019.

    Household saving rate significantly up

    In the first quarter of 2020, the saving rate increased in both the euro area and the EU by 4.3 percentage points, compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

    The household saving rate increased in all Member States, for which data are available for the first quarter of 2020.

    The highest increases were observed in Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands, and the lowest in Poland, Sweden and Czechia.

    For all but two Member States, the increase of the saving rate was explained by the strong decrease of individual consumption expenditure.

    The drop in the individual consumption expenditure of households was the most pronounced in Italy, Spain and Belgium, followed by France. At the same time, the gross disposable income varied, increasing in Poland, Denmark, Czechia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Finland and decreasing in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany and Austria.

    Household investment rate down

    In the first quarter of 2020 the investment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points for the euro area and 0.3 percentage points in the EU.

    Among the Member States for which data are available for the first quarter of 2020, the decrease in investment rate of households was the highest in Spain, France and Belgium.

    Seven Member States recorded an increase in the household investment rate, the highest being observed in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark.

  • Half of batteries sold in EU are collected for recycling

    Half of batteries sold in EU are collected for recycling

    Over recent years, sales of portable batteries and accumulators in the EU remained relatively stable: from 176.000 tonnes in 2010, the amounts fell slightly to 169.000 tonnes in 2013, before rising steadily to 191.000 tonnes in 2018.

    In contrast, collection of waste batteries and accumulators in the EU steadily increased from 55.000 tonnes in 2010 to 88.000 tonnes in 2018.

    As a result, the collection rate of portable batteries and accumulators gradually increased from 35% in 2011 to 48% in 2018.

    Among the EU Member States, Croatia recorded the highest collection rate of portable batteries and accumulators (96%) in 2018 and was followed by Poland (81%), Luxembourg (69%), Belgium (62%) and Slovakia (58%).

    In contrast, the lowest rates were recorded in Estonia (30%), Cyprus (30%, 2017 data) and Portugal (31%).

  • 29% of Europeans can’t afford a week’s holiday

    29% of Europeans can’t afford a week’s holiday

    In 2019, 29% of residents of EU Member States aged 16 or over were unable to afford paying for an annual one-week holiday away from home.

    This share has gradually decreased since 2010, when 39% of Europeans could not afford to take a week holidaying away from their home. However, due to lockdowns and border closure implemented across the world in 2020 to slow down the rapid spread of the coronavirus, this downward trend is likely to halt in 2020.

    Among EU Member States, Romania recorded the highest share of individuals in this situation, with the majority of Romanians (54%) being unable to afford a one-week annual holiday in 2019.

    Residents of Greece came second, with 49% not being able to take a one-week holiday away from home, followed by Croatia (48%), Cyprus (45%) and Italy (44%).

    In contrast, at the lower-end of the scale, only 10% of people in Sweden were unable to afford a one-week annual holiday, followed by Denmark and Luxembourg (both 11%), Finland (12%), Germany and Austria (both 13%).

    Compared with 2010, the percentage of people who were unable to afford a one-week holiday away from home each year declined across all Member States, with the exception of Italy and Greece where it increased 4 percentage points (pp) and 3 pp respectively.

    The largest declines were recorded in Latvia (-35 pp), Malta (-30 pp), Bulgaria and Poland (both -27 pp) and Estonia (-26 pp).

  • Tourism nights dropped sharply in March and April 2020

    Tourism nights dropped sharply in March and April 2020

    From January to April 2020, the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU, such as hotels, holiday and other short-stay accommodation, camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks, totalled 353 million, a decline of 44% from January-April 2019.

    In terms of individual months within this period, the most substantial falls in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments were recorded in March (-62%) and April (-95%) compared with the same months of 2019.

    Prior to the pandemic, there had been a small improvement in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation, with increases of 5% and 6% in January and February respectively.

    There was a similar trend displayed in the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation, regardless of whether the guests were from the reporting country or foreign countries.

    The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments declined across all Member States, for which data are available, in January-April 2020 when compared with a year earlier, ranging from a 26% decline in Austria to a drop of 70% in Croatia.

    The declines were in excess of 40% for 16 out of 25 Member States.