Much of the trade is intracontinental, especially among members of the European Union, but Europeans also engage in large-scale trade with nations of other continents. Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, and The Netherlands are among the world s greatest trading nations. A large portion of European intercontinental trade involves the export of manufactured goods and the import of raw materials. Coal mining in areas such as the British Midlands, the Ruhr district of Germany, Ukraine, and the Silesian fields of Poland established industrial patterns that continue to exist today. Although coal mining is declining in Europe, it remains important in some countries.
Iron ore is produced in large quantities in northern Sweden, eastern France, and Ukraine.
A wide range of other minerals such as bauxite, copper, manganese, nickel, and potash are mined in substantial amounts. Manufacturing of a wide variety of goods, ranging from bulk chemicals to high-tech equipment, is concentrated in England, eastern and southern France, northern Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, southern Norway, Sweden, European Russia, and Ukraine. Europe consumes great quantities of energy, though per capita levels of energy consumption are lower than in North America. The leading energy sources are coal, lignite, petroleum, natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower. Norway, Sweden, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and Spain all have major hydroelectric installations, which contribute much of the annual output of electricity.