Map: EU growth will slow down in 2008

The EU’s economy will grow slower than expected, falling from 2.7% in 2007 to 2.0% in 2008. Things will worsen in 2009. Take a look at your countries’ growth rates

Por Pedro Picón Jiménez, Leeds. Traducción Pedro Jose Picon Jimenez

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02/05/08

Tags : crecimiento económico, previsión, Economía, paro, desempleo, Consumidores, coste de la vida, Concursos, pib, Unión Europea.

Trade balance in 2008

The EU’s struggling in terms of balance between imports and exports. The average for the 27 member states is at -1.4% in relation with the country’s GDP. This means that the EU buys more than it sells. The most striking examples are those of Bulgaria and Cyprus, at -30.8 and -24.6% respectively. Countries shown with a green flag are countries with a positive trade balance. In red, countries with a negative trade balance.

Unemployment in 2008

Unemployment figures remain the same. The total EU unemployment rate remains at 6.8%, as in 2007. We should slap Spain’s wrists, which is the only country with an unemployment rate over 10% (lying at 10.6%). In red, countries that are below EU average, and in green, of course, countries above EU average.

GDP: the east is on fire

As a general trend, the growth rate, at 2.0% in 2008, is slowing down. However when we take account of the positive figures, we should look east, where almost all countries have a growth rate at over 5.0%. At the top, Slovakia, with a growth rate of 7.0%. Scraping the barrel, Italy, with a stagnating rate of 0.5%