Living conditions in Europe : data 2002-2005 : 2007 edition.
Date: 2007-02-22
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, living conditions, social indicator, socioeconomic conditions

ISSN 1725-5988

Pocketbooks

Living conditions in Europe

Data 2002-2005

2007 edition

EuropEan Commission

2006_3908new.indd   1

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Immediate access to harmonised statistical data
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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2007

ISBN 92-79-03262-3
ISSN 1725-5988
Theme: Population and social conditions

© European Communities, 2007

Printed in Belgium

Printed on white chlorine-free PaPer

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Table of contents

Page

Symbols	.................................... .. .. .. . .. .. .. 	

Country codes and country groupings	.............. .. .. ..  

Introduction	 	.................................... .. .. .. . .. 	

Explanatory notes	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . .  

5

6

7

8

IndICaTorS by domaIn

1. Population and households	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .  

9
1.1.		 The	population	in	Europe	............. .. .. .. .. 	 10	
1.2.		 Population	structure	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 12
1..		 Getting	older	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 14
1.4.		 A	changing	population	............. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 16
1.5.		 Composition	of	households	.............. .. .. . 	 18
1.6.		 Total	fertility	rate	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 20
1.7.		 Population	by	citizenship	............. .. .. .. .. . 	 22
1.8.		 Asylum	applications	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 24	
Methodological notes	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .   26

2. Education and training	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..   27
2.1.		 Education	outcomes	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 28
2.2.		 Participation	in	education	.............. .. .. .. . 	 0
2..		 Foreign	language	learning	.............. .. .. .. 	 2
2.4.		 Tertiary	education	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 4
2.5.		 Lifelong	learning	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 6
2.6.		 Continuing	Vocational	Training	in	enterprises	.. . 	 8
2.7.		 Expenditure	on	education	............. .. .. .. .. 	 40

3. Labour market	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . ..   4
.1.		 Employment	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 44
.2.		 Equal	opportunities	in	employment	....... .. .. . 	 46
..		 Gender	Pay	Gap	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 48
.4.		 Working	time	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 50
.5.		 Unemployment	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 52
.6.		 Youth	unemployment	.............. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 54
.7.		 Unemployment	and	education	............ .. .. . 	 56
Industrial	disputes	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 58
.8.		
.9.		 Job	vacancies	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 60
.10.		Expenditure	on	Labour	Market	Policy	..... .. .. . 	 62
.11.		 Average	earnings	of	full-time	workers	...... .. .. 	 64
.12.		Earnings	of	men	and	women	............. .. .. . 	 66



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.1.		Minimum	wage	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 68
.14.		Time	use	structure	of	women	.............. .. .. 	 70
.15.		Time	use	structure	of	men	............. .. .. .. . 	 72

4. Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption	.. .   75
4.1.		 Risk	of	poverty	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 76
Income	and	risk	of	poverty	.............. .. .. .. 	 78
4.2.		
4..		 Activity	status	and	social	exclusion	........ .. .. 	 80
4.4.		 Consumption	expenditure	............. .. .. .. .. 	 82
Background information	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .   84

5. Social protection	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . .   85
5.1.		 Social	protection	expenditure	............. .. .. . 	 86
5.2.		 Social	protection	benefits	.............. .. .. .. . 	 88
5..		 Social	protection	receipts	............. .. .. .. .. 	 90

6. Health and safety	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... . ..   9
6.1.		 Life	and	health	expectancies	............. .. .. . 	 94
6.2.		 Perceived	health	............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 96
6..		 Selected	health	problems	1	.............. .. .. . 	 98
6.4.		 Selected	health	problems	2	.............. .. .. . 	 100
6.5.		 Accidents	at	work	.............. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 	 102
6.6.		 Major	causes	of	death	............. .. .. .. .. .. . 	 104
6.7.		 Transport	accident	deaths............. .. .. .. .. 	 106

4

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Symbols

Symbols used in the tables

The special values are codes which replace real data:

:		

-	

“not	available”

“not	applicable”

Flags are codes added to data and defining a specific
characteristic:

b	

e	

f	

i	

p	

r	

s	

u	

“break	in	series”

“estimated	value”

“forecast”

“more	 information	 is	 in	 the	 note	 in	 the	 end	 of	 the	 table		
or	in	the	Eurostat	web	site	http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat”

“provisional	value”

“revised	value”

“Eurostat	estimate”

“unreliable	or	uncertain	data	”

other symbols

%	

percent

5

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Country codes and country groupings

Country codes

AT		
BE		
BG		
CH	
CY	
CZ	
DE	
DK		
EE	
EL		
ES		
FI		
FR	
HR	
HU	
IE		
IS	
IT		
LI		
LT		
LU		
LV	
MK	
MT	
NL		
NO	
PL	
PT		
RO	
SE		
SI	
SK	
TR	
UK		

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Switzerland
Cyprus	
Czech	Republic
Germany
Denmark	
Estonia
Greece
Spain	
Finland
France
Croatia
Hungary	
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Latvia	
the	Former	Yugoslav	Republic	of	Macedonia	
Malta	
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Sweden
Slovenia
Slovakia
Turkey
United	Kingdom

Country groupings

EU-15	 	

EU-25	 	

The	 15	 Member	 States	 of	 the	 European	 Union	 till	
1.5.2004:	 BE,	 DK,	 DE,	 EL,	 ES,	 FR,	 IE,	 IT,	 LU,	 NL,	AT,	
PT,	FI,	SE	and	UK.

The	 25	 Member	 States	 of	 the	 European	 Union	 from	
1.5.2004:	BE,	CZ,	DK,	DE,	EE,	EL,	ES,	FR,	IE,	IT,	CY,	LV,	
LT,	LU,	HU,	MT,	NL,	AT,	PL,	PT,	SI,	SK,	FI,	SE	and	UK.

Euro	area	 The	 euro	 area	 with	 11	 countries	 participating	 (BE,	 DK,	
ES,	 FR,	 IE,	 IT,	 LU,	 NL,	 AT,	 PT	 and	 FI)	 till	 1.12.2000	
and	 12	 countries	 participating	 from	 1.1.2001	 (the	 11	
mentioned	 above	 and	 EL).	 Also	 called	 ‘euro	 zone’,	
‘euroland’	and	‘euro	group’.

6

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Introduction 

This	 is	 the	 fifth	 edition	 of	 the	 statistical	 pocketbook	 on	 Living 
conditions in Europe. It	aims	to	provide	a	comprehensive	picture	of	
the	 current	 living	 conditions	 in	 the	 twenty-five	 Member	 States,	 the	
two	Acceding	States¹	(Bulgaria	and	Romania)	and	three	Candidate	
States	 (Croatia,	 the	 Former	 Yugoslav	 Republic	 of	 Macedonia	 and	
Turkey)	 of	 the	 European	 Union	 as	 well	 as	 in	 the	 four	 EFTA	 States	
(Iceland,	Liechtenstein,	Norway	and	Switzerland).

Each	 of	 the	 six	 chapters	 focuses	 on	 an	 area	 of	 social	 policy.	
Within	 each	 chapter,	 a	 range	 of	 policy-relevant	 indicators,	 as	 well	
as	 more	 descriptive	 data,	 are	 presented	 in	 tables	 and	 graphs	 and	
accompanied	by	a	short	commentary.	

Data	 are	 drawn	 from	 sources	 available	 in	 Eurostat,	 such	 as	 the	
European	Union	Labour	Force	Survey	(LFS).	

The	 European	 Commission	 report	 The  social  situation  in  the 
European  Union,	 prepared	 jointly	 by	 the	 Directorate-General	 for	
Employment,	 Social	Affairs	 and	 Equal	 Opportunities	 and	 Eurostat,	
provides	a	more	in-depth	analysis	of	the	key	social	policy	concerns	
for	the	European	Union.

Editor  and  co-ordinator:	 Jukka	 Piirto	 (Eurostat,	 Unit	 F	 Living 
conditions and social protection statistics).

Contributors:	 Eurostat,	 Directorate	 F:	 Social  Statistics  and 
Information Society
Unit	F1	Demographic and migration statistics:	Rosemarie	Andersson,	
Gregor	Kyi	and	Anna	Lööf;
Unit	 F2	 Labour  market  statistics:	 Ómar	 S.	 Hardarson,	 Sylvain	
Jouhette,	 Africa	 Melis,	 Pierre	 Regnard,	 Aurora	 Ortega	 Sanchez,	
Malgorzata	Szczesna	and	Anatole	Tokofaï;
Unit	 F	 Living  conditions  and  social  protection  statistics:	 Gérard	
Abramovici,	Anne	Clémenceau	and	Ian	Dennis;
Unit	 F4	 Education,  science  and  culture  statistics:	 Marta	 Beck-
Domzalska,	Stuart	McAllister	and	Lene	Mejer;
Unit	 	 F5	 Health  and  food  safety  statistics:	 Lucian	Agafitei,	 Sabine	
Gagel,	Antti	Karjalainen	and	Elodie	Niederlaender.

data extracted on: 18th	September	2006.

For more information please consult:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

¹  This	 publication	 was	 produced	 during	 the	 autumn	 2006,	 ahead	 of	 the	 final	 accession	
procedures	of	Bulgaria	and	Romania.	Therefore	these	two	countries	are	not	considered	
as	Member	States	throughout	the	publication,	and	no	EU-27	aggregates	are	provided.	

7

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Explanatory notes

The	 notes	 presented	 below	 cover	 several	 indicators.	 Other	 notes	
that	are	specific	to	one	indicator	appear	below	each	table	or	that	are	
specific	to	a	domain	within	the	domain.	

rounding of figures

In	tables	where	figures	have	been	rounded	to	the	nearest	final	digit,	
there	 may	 be	 a	 discrepancy	 between	 the	 sum	 of	 the	 components	
and	the	total	as	shown.

Purchasing power standards (PPS)

The	purchasing	power	parity	is	a	conversion	rate	that	uses	the	prices	
of	a	selection	of	comparable	products	and	thus	takes	account	of	the	
real	 purchasing	 power	 of	 a	 currency.	 The	 amounts	 obtained	 using	
this	rate	are	called	purchasing	power	standards	(PPS).

ISCEd - International Standard Classification of Education

Education	data	in	this	pocketbook	are	based	on	ISCED97.	The	term	
‘Less	 than	 upper	 secondary’	 corresponds	 to	 primary	 level	 (ISCED	
1)	 and	 lower	 secondary	 (ISCED	 2)	 education.	 ‘Upper	 secondary	
education’	refers	to	ISCED		as	well	as	post-secondary	non-tertiary	
education	 (ISCED	 4).	 For	 some	 countries,	 the	 end	 of	 ISCED	 2	
marks	 the	 end	 of	 compulsory	 schooling.	 For	 others,	 the	 boundary	
between	ISCED	2	and		is	less	clear,	in	particular	when	a	modular	
system	is	in	place.	Tertiary	education	(university	and	non-university	
programmes)	refers	to	ISCED	5-6.	

Income data

The	 income	 data	 are	 based	 on	 the	 EU-SILC	 (Statistics	 on	 Income	
and	 Living	 Conditions)	 for	 14	 countries	 and	 national	 sources	
for	 the	 rest	 and	 generally	 refer	 to	 the	 twelve	 months	 prior	 to	 the	
survey,	 i.e.	 200	 or	 2002.	 In	 order	 to	 take	 account	 of	 differences	
in	 household	 size	 and	 composition	 in	 the	 comparison	 of	 income	
levels,	the	household’s	total	income	is	divided	by	its	‘equivalent	size’,	
computed	 using	 the	 modified	 OECD	 equivalence	 scale.	This	 scale	
gives	a	weight	of	1.0	to	the	first	adult,	0.5	to	the	second	and	each	
subsequent	 person	 aged	 14	 and	 over,	 and	 0.	 to	 each	 child	 aged	
less	than	14	in	the	household.

dependent children

Dependent	children	include	all	children	up	to	the	age	of	14	plus	all	
those	persons	aged	15-24	who	are	economically	inactive	(mainly	in	
education)	and	who	are	living	with	at	least	one	of	their	parents.

8

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1.  

PoPULaTIon and 
HoUSEHoLdS

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Population and households

Table 1.1: The population in Europe

Total population

Share in 
EU-25 
population

In 1000

In %

Population 
density

In persons 
per km2

1970 1)

2005 1)

2050 1) 2)

2005 1)

2004 1)

EU-25

406	870

461	298

449	81

Euro area

271	517

10	926

04	95

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

9	660

9	906

4	907

78	269

1	56

8	781

	588

50	528

2	94

5	685

	612

2	52

	119

	9

10	446

10	221

5	411

82	501

1	47

11	076

4	08

60	561

4	109

58	462

	749

2	06

	425

	455

10	22

10	098

	0

12	958

7	455

2	671

8	698

1	718

4	57

4	614

8	004

	40

16	06

8	207

8	174

10	529

1	998

5	85

5	27

9	011

55	546

60	05

8	464

4	40

:

20	140

:

	204

	21

	86

6	169

7	761

4	444

:

21	659

71	609

	294

	5

4	606

7	415

10	906

8	894

5	40

74	642

1	126

10	62

42	84

65	704

5	478

52	709

	975

1	87

2	881

	64

8	915

	508

17	406

8	216

	665

10	009

1	901

4	78

5	217

10	202

64	0

5	094

:

:

17	125

:

:

:

:

:

100

67.7

2.

2.2

1.2

18.0

0.

2.4

9.4

1.2

0.9

12.7

0.2

0.5

0.7

0.1

2.2

0.1

.5

1.8

8.

2.

0.4

1.2

1.1

2.0

1.1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

118

:

44

12

125

21

1

85

8

110

60

197

10

7

55

175

109

1272

482

99

122

114

99

110

17

22

244

71

:

:

92

91

:

:

:

:

notes: 1)	1	January.	2)	Eurostat,	2004	based	population	projections.	Trend	scenario,	
baseline	variant.

10

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Population and households

Graph 1.1a: Share in the total world population in 1970 

Other less developed
countries,
33.8 % 

EU-25 countries,
11.0 % 

USA,
5.7 %

Other more developed
countries,
10.6 % 

Nigeria,
1.4 %

India,
15.0 %

China,
22.5 %

Source: For the EU: Eurostat; for non-EU: US Census Bureau, International Data Base.

Graph 1.1b: Share in the total world population in 2004

EU-25 countries,
7.2 % 

USA,
4.6 %

Other less developed
countries,
41.6 % 

Other more developed
countries,
7.1 % 

China,
20.5 %

Nigeria,
2.0 %

India,
17.0 %

Source: For the EU: Eurostat; for non-EU: US Census Bureau, International Data Base.

over 461 million inhabitants in EU-25

During	 the	 last	 four	 decades,	 the	 population	 of	 the	 25	 countries	 of	 today’s	
European	Union	has	grown	from	over	406	million	persons	(1970)	to	over	461	
million	persons	(2005).	

Despite	this	growth,	the	share	in	the	world	population	that	the	25	countries	of	
today’s	European	Union	make	up	has	decreased	from	about	11	%	in	1970	to	
about	7	%	in	2004.	Between	the	1960s	and	the	turn	of	the	century	the	world	
population	has	about	doubled,	but	about	90	%	of	this	increase	has	happened	
in	less	developed	countries.

11

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Population and households

Table 1.2: Population structure (Share	of	each	age	group	of	the	
total	population	in	%), 1st January 2005

Under 20 
years

20 to 59 
years 

60 to 79  
years

80 years and 
over

4.0

:

4.

.0

4.1

4.

.0

.4

4.

4.5

2.7

5.0

2.6

.0

2.8

.2

.

2.9

.5

4.2

2.5

.8

.0

2.4

.9

5.4

4.

.1

2.6

:

2.4

:

.1

2.9

4.6

4.4

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

2.5

:

2.1

21.5

24.

20.2

2.9

20.2

20.

25.0

28.6

19.2

27.4

22.8

25.0

24.6

21.9

24.9

24.5

22.2

24.8

21.6

20.8

25.0

2.6

2.8

24.8

20.6

22.5

:

2.8

7.4

29.5

2.7

25.8

22.0

55.7

:

54.9

58.9

54.6

54.8

54.4

56.9

58.5

54.

56.8

55.9

56.8

55.0

54.7

56.7

56.8

57.2

56.5

56.0

58.4

56.5

58.7

59.2

55.4

52.8

54.

56.7

55.6

:

56.8

54.1

54.7

59.7

54.4

56.6

16.9

:

17.7

16.7

16.8

20.6

18.7

19.8

17.

16.

12.6

20.1

1.9

19.1

17.4

15.6

18.0

15.

15.6

17.7

14.6

18.4

17.6

1.7

17.2

17.9

16.6

19.7

19.5

:

16.9

:

12.7

1.8

14.9

16.9

note:	EU-25,	Estonia,	United	Kingdom,	Croatia:	2004.

12

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Population and households

Graph 1.2: Population aged 80 years and over

Share in the total population in %

16.9 16.7

15.7

15.3

14.1

14.5

13.7 13.6 13.4

13.2 13.1

12.5

12.0 11.9 11.9 11.8 11.4 11.4

2005

2050 1)

11.2 11.2 11.1 10.9 10.7 10.6 10.5

10.0

5.0

4.0

4.3

4.2 4.3

4.3

3.8

4.5 4.3

3.4 3.9

3.0

2.8

2.5 2.6

3.0 3.3

2.9

3.2 3.0

4.1

3.5

3.0

2.7

2.4

5.4

EU-25

DE IT AT ES SI BE PT FR UK EL FI LT PL CY CZ HU MT SE LU LV DK SK EE NL IE

Notes:  1) 2050: Eurostat, 2004 based population projections. Trend scenario, baseline variant.
2) EU-25, Estonia, United Kingdom: 2004.

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

The share of older people will increase substantially

In	 2004,	 more	 than	 a	 fifth	 of	 the	 total	 EU-25	 population	 was	 younger	 than	
20	 years	 (2.5	%).	 Ireland	 had	 the	 biggest	 share	 of	 young	 people	 (28.4	%),	
whereas	 Italy	 (19.1	%),	 Spain	 (20.1	%),	 Germany	 (20.5	%)	 and	 Greece	
(20.2	%)	had	the	smallest.	

The	 structure	 of	 the	 EU-25	 population	 is	 bound	 to	 change	 and	 the	 share	 of	
the	 older	 generations	 will	 probably	 increase.	 For	 example,	 the	 share	 of	 the	
persons	 of	 80	 years	 and	 over	 is	 projected	 to	 grow	 from	 4.0	%	 in	 2004	 to	
14.1	%	in	2050.

1

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Population and households

Table 1.3: Getting older

retirement age to working age 
population (in %) 1)

Life expectancy at birth 
(in years)

1970 2)

2005 2)

2050 2) 3)

2004 2) 4)

males

Females

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

18.4

:

21.2

17.9

18.9

21.4

17.7

17.2

15.2

20.6

19.

16.7

:

18.0

15.9

19.1

17.0

:

16.2

22.7

12.6

14.9

14.8

14.4

1.6

20.7

20.7

14.0

:

:

:

:

15.0

12.

20.4

17.

:

:

:

19.8

22.7

27.8

:

:

24.4

25.2

16.4

:

17.

24.1

22.

21.

22.7

19.

20.8

2.5

18.7

25.2

21.8

16.

2.8

26.5

:

24.8

:

:

21.1

:

17.9

15.6

22.4

2.

52.8

:

48.1

54.8

40.0

55.8

4.1

58.8

67.5

47.9

45.

66.0

4.2

44.1

44.9

6.1

48.

40.6

8.6

5.2

51.0

58.1

55.6

50.6

46.7

40.9

45.

60.9

:

:

51.1

:

:

:

:

:

75.6

:

75.9

72.6

75.4

76.5

66.1

76.6

77.2

76.7

76.4

76.8

76.6

65.9

66.

76.0

68.7

76.7

76.9

76.4

70.6

74.9

7.5

70.

75.

78.

76.2

69.0

72.0

:

68.2

68.8

78.9

78.6

77.5

78.5

81.7

:

81.7

79.2

80.1

82.1

77.2

81.4

8.8

8.8

81.2

82.5

81.7

76.2

77.7

82.2

77.2

80.7

81.4

82.1

79.2

81.4

80.7

78.0

82.2

82.6

80.7

76.2

79.0

:

75.5

7.6

82.8

84.2

82.

8.6

notes: 1)	Population	aged	65	years	and	over	related	to	the	population	between	15	
and	64.	These	are	rough	approximations	of	the	real	retirement	and	working	ages.	2)	
1	January.		)	2050:	Eurostat,	2004	based	population	projections.	Trend	scenario,	
baseline	variant.	4)	Belgium,	Estonia,	Italy,	Malta,	United	Kingdom:	200.

14

2006_3908new.indd   14

17-01-2007   10:33:51

Population and households

Graph 1.3: Retirement age to working age population 
in the EU-25 (in %) 1)

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

2005

2010

2015

2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

1) Population aged 65 years and over related to the population between 20 and 64, in the 25 countries that today form the EU. 
These are rough approximations of the real retirement and working ages.
2005 and later: Eurostat, 2004 based population projections. Trend scenario, baseline variant.

The old age dependency ratio might double by 2050

Life	 expectancy	 at	 birth	 has	 increased	 due	 to	 better	 circumstances	 of	 life	
and	medical	progress.	In	the	countries	of	today’s	EU-25,	a	newborn	girl	can	
expect	to	live	over	81	years	(boys:	about	75).	At	the	beginning	of	the	1960s	
life	expectancy	at	birth	stood	at	below	7	years	for	girls	and	at	about	67	years	
for	boys.

Low	fertility	levels,	combined	with	an	extended	longevity	and	the	fact	that	the	
baby	 boomers	 will	 reach	 retirement	 age,	 results	 in	 a	 demographic	 aging	 of	
the	EU	population.	The	share	of	the	older	generation	is	increasing	while	the	
one	of	those	of	working	age	is	decreasing.	The	graph	relates	the	population	in	
retirement	age	(65	years	and	over)	to	the	population	in	their	working	age	(from	
15	to	64	years)	i.e.	the	‘old	age	dependency	ratio’.	If	current	trends	prevail	until	
2050,	anyone	in	his	working	age	then	might	have	to	provide	for	twice	as	many	
retired	people	as	is	usual	today!

15

2006_3908new.indd   15

17-01-2007   10:33:52

Population and households

Table 1.4: a changing population (Change	per	1	000	inhabitants	
-	Average	for	the	years	2000	to	2005	1))

Total population 
change

natural change 2)

net migration 3)

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

4.1

:

4.1

-0.4

.0

0.6

-.6

.1

14.8

5.

17.4

5.

18.9

-6.2

-5.

9.2

-2.4

10.8

4.9

5.5

-0.5

6.1

1.

-0.

2.7

.4

4.4

-5.7

-4.5

:

-2.

:

10.2

12.

6.1

6.8

0.7

:

1.0

-1.

1.4

-1.4

-.6

-0.1

1.4

.9

7.9

-0.

4.2

-5.2

-2.9

.8

-.7

2.4

.7

0.2

-0.1

0.8

-0.6

0.1

1.5

0.

1.5

-5.5

-2.1

:

-2.0

:

8.1

5.2

.1

1.6

.4

:

.1

0.9

1.6

1.9

0.0

.2

1.

1.4

9.6

5.6

14.7

-1.1

-2.4

5.4

1.4

8.

1.2

5.

-0.4

5.

1.9

-0.4

1.1

.0

2.9

-0.1

-2.4

:

-0.

:

2.0

7.0

2.9

5.2

notes: 1)	Average	annual	population	change	during	the	period	2000	to	2004	divided	by	
the	average	of	the	mid-year	population	figures	for	of	the	respective	five	years.	2)	Live	
births	minus	deaths.	)	Net	migration	has	been	calculated	as	the	difference	between	
total	population	change	minus	natural	change.	Including	corrections.

16

2006_3908new.indd   16

17-01-2007   10:33:52

Population and households

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

-1

Graph 1.4: Components of population change, EU-25

Average change 1) per 1000 inhabitants

0.6

Net migration 3)

Natural change 2)

0.2

5.0

0.6

3.5

8.2

6.9

-0.1

0.1

2.7

1.0

2.1

2.0

1.4

1.5

0.6

3.6

0.7

1960-1964 1965-1969 1970-1974 1975-1979 1980-1984

1985-1989 1990-1994 1995-1999 2000-2005

Notes: 1) Average annual population change during the mentioned period divided by the average of the mid-year
population
2) Live births minus deaths.
3) Net migration has been calculated as the difference between total population change minus natural change. 
Including corrections.

Important role of international migration in population 
growth

Development	and	composition	of	the	population	growth	in	Europe	has	varied	
significantly	over	the	years.	The	“natural	increase”	of	the	population	is	defined	
as	the	number	of	life	births	minus	the	one	of	deaths	during	a	given	year.	Until	
the	end	of	the	1980s,	the	“natural	increase”	was	by	far	the	major	component	
of	 population	 growth.	 However,	 there	 has	 been	 a	 sustained	 decline	 of	 the	
“natural	increase”.

On	the	other	hand,	international	migration	has	gained	importance	to	become	
the	major	force	of	population	growth	from	the	beginning	of	the	1990s	onwards.	
In	 recent	 years,	 clearly	 more	 than	 three	 quarters	 of	 the	 total	 population	
increase	 was	 due	 to	 a	 net	 inward	 migration.	 Migration	 is	 influenced	 by	 a	
combination	 of	 economic,	 political	 and	 social	 factors	 which	 act	 as	 ‘push’	
factors	 in	 the	 migrant’s	 country	 of	 origin	 and	 ‘pull’	 factors	 in	 the	 destination	
country.	 The	 economic	 prosperity	 and	 political	 stability	 of	 the	 EU	 exert	 a	
considerable	pull	effect.	Various	push	factors	in	many	parts	of	the	world	have	
a	strong	effect	on	migrant	flows.

17

2006_3908new.indd   17

17-01-2007   10:33:52

Population and households

Table 1.5: Composition of households (Percentage	of	persons	
living	in	private	households	by	household	type), 2005

Single 
adult living 
alone

Two adults 
without 
dependent 
children

Three 
or more 
adults 
without 
dependent 
children

Single 
parent with 
dependent 
children

Two adults 
with 
dependent 
children

Three 
or more 
adults with 
dependent 
children

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

12

12

12

10

15

17

10

10

6

1

:

11

5

8

9

12

10

4

14

15

:

6

9

5

17

:

1

9

9

:

7

:

:

:

:

:

25

25

25

2

1

0

2

2

19

26

:

20

20

19

14

21

21

15

28

2

:

19

18

14

1

:

27

21

20

:

16

:

:

:

:

:

14

14

14

14

6

10

12

20

2

7

:

19

16

17

12

9

15

21

11

14

:

20

22

17

10

:

11

17

20

:

15

:

:

:

:

:

4

4

4

5

5

5

6

2

2

5

:

2

2

5

4



4

2

4

4

:

2

2

2

2

:

8



2

:

2

:

:

:

:

:

5

5

5

8

6

1

6

5

4

42

:

6

40

27

2

44

5

7

4

1

:

6





1

:

1

29

29

:

5

:

:

:

:

:

11

11

11

10

7

7

14

10

17

7

:

12

18

25

0

9

16

20

9

14

:

17

16

27

9

:

8

20

20

:

25

:

:

:

:

:

note: EU-25,	Estonia,	United	Kingdom	and	Croatia:	2004.
Source: EU	Labour	Force	Survey,	spring	data.

18

2006_3908new.indd   18

17-01-2007   10:33:53

Population and households

Graph 1.5: Population living in private households 
by household type, EU-25, 2005

Three or more adults 
with dependent children,
11 %  

Single adult living alone,
12 % 

Two adults with 
dependent children,
35 %

Two adults without
dependent children,
25 %

Single parent with
dependent children,
4 %

Three or more adults without 
dependent children,
14 % 

Notes: DK, LU, FI: annual average, No comparable data for IE, PL and SE. EU aggregates based on the available country data.
Source: EU Labour Force Survey, spring data.

one out of eight is living alone in EU-25

In	2005	in	EU-25,	49	%	of	the	population	living	in	private	households	lived	in	
households	which	had	dependent	children.	The	highest	percentages	could	be	
observed	 in	 Lithuania	 (66	%),	 Slovakia	 (6	%)	 and	 Romania	 (62	%)	 and	 the	
lowest	ones	in	Finland	(42	%)	and	Germany	(4	%).

One	out	of	eight	persons	is	a	single	adult	living	alone.	This	percentage	was	
highest	in	Germany	and	Finland	(both	17	%)	and	lowest	in	Malta	(4	%),	Cyprus	
and	Slovakia	(both	5	%).

19

2006_3908new.indd   19

17-01-2007   10:33:53

Population and households

Table 1.6: Total fertility rate1)

1960/1969 2) 1970/1979 2) 1980/1989 2) 1990/1999 2) 2000/2004 2)

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

2.59

:

2.5

2.09

2.46

2.4

:

2.6

2.92

2.75

.91

2.5

:

:

2.49

2.29

1.92

2.70

.01

2.69

2.54

.11

2.2

2.74

2.47

2.26

2.78

2.19

2.10

:

2.48

:

.65

:

2.88

2.49

2.08

:

1.89

2.24

1.84

1.6

2.08

2.2

2.75

2.11

.56

2.18

2.1

1.95

2.18

1.6

2.08

2.20

1.88

1.88

2.25

2.56

2.16

2.50

1.65

1.79

1.98

2.18

1.92

:

2.61

:

2.67

:

2.08

1.72

1.7

:

1.58

1.97

1.48

1.45

1.95

1.78

1.7

1.84

2.60

1.45

2.17

2.08

2.06

1.46

1.8

2.00

1.5

1.5

2.26

1.84

1.77

2.2

1.67

1.76

1.80

1.78

1.8

:

2.0

:

2.18

:

1.7

1.54

1.50

:

1.61

1.45

1.74

1.

1.47

1.

1.24

1.7

1.95

1.24

2.17

1.4

1.67

1.68

1.59

1.77

1.59

1.44

1.72

1.49

1.1

1.68

1.78

1.81

1.75

1.7

1.55

:

1.4

:

2.1

:

1.87

1.52

1.48

:

1.6

1.17

1.75

1.6

1.6

1.27

1.27

1.89

1.96

1.28

1.5

1.24

1.29

1.68

1.0

1.54

1.7

1.8

1.27

1.47

1.22

1.22

1.75

1.64

1.67

1.25

1.4

:

1.28

:

2.00

1.47

1.80

1.4

notes: 1)	The	total	fertility	rate	is	the	average	number	of	children	that	would	be	born	
alive	to	a	woman	during	her	lifetime	if	she	were	to	pass	through	all	childbearing	years	
conforming	to	the	age-specific	fertility	rates	of	a	given	year.	2)	Average	of	the	total	
fertility	rates	of	the	individual	years	within	the	respective	10	year	period.

20

2006_3908new.indd   20

17-01-2007   10:33:54

Population and households

Graph 1.6: Total fertility rate 1) in the EU-25 countries

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

Note: 1) The total fertility rate is the average number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime 
if she were to pass through all childbearing years conforming to the age-specific fertility rates of a given year.  

Fewer children and later in life

A	major	reason	for	the	slowdown	of	the	“natural	increase”	of	the	population	is	
the	fact	that,	on	average	and	over	time,	the	inhabitants	of	the	European	Union	
have	fewer	children.	The	so-	called	“total	fertility	rate”	is	a	tool	often	used	to	
make	 comparisons:	 In	 the	 more	 developed	 parts	 of	 the	 world	 today,	 a	 total	
fertility	 rate	 of	 2.1	 children	 per	 woman	 is	 considered	 to	 be	 the	 replacement	
level,	i.e.	the	level	at	which	a	population	would	remain	stable	in	the	long	run	if	
there	was	no	inward	or	outward	migration.	In	the	25	countries	that	today	form	
the	European	Union,	the	total	fertility	rate	has	declined	from	a	level	of	above	
2.5	in	the	1960s	to	a	level	of	about	1.5	in	1995	where	it	has	remained	since.	

21

2006_3908new.indd   21

17-01-2007   10:33:54

Population and households

Table 1.7: Population by citizenship

Population by citizenship  
(in thousands), 1.1.2005

non-nationals as a percentage 
of total population

nationals

Total

Total

non-nationals
… of which 
other  
EU-25 
nationals 

… of which 
non-EU-25 
nationals 

1990

Total Total

1.1.2005
… of which 
other  
EU-25 
nationals 

… of which  
non-EU-25 
nationals 

EU-25

4	205 26	28

7	05

18	978

Euro area 290	470 20	456

5	780

14	676

:

:

9	575

9	966

5	144

	871

	254

	268

:

	80

	68

:

	8.9

	174 	0.

	200 	2.9

75	21

7	288

2	100

5	189 	6.1

1	096

10	150

	274

	891

	4

:

	270

:

	20.0

:

	1.4

9	667

	71

	700

2	671 	1.0

55	258

	26

1	27

2	026 	6.

	875

	255

56	060

2	402

	651

	98

1	819

	487

	9

	278

9	954

	91

15	606

7	75

7	50

10	169

1	95

5	6

5	128

8	50

	2

	177

	144

	12

	699

	765

	700

	29

	44

	22

	108

	481

:

	207

	55

	5

	2

:

	1

:

	228

	188

	14

	67

	1

	11

	5

:

	2.

2	196 	0.6

	4 	4.2 	1.1

	482 	27. 	21.1

	1

:

	0.9

: 	28.7 	9.0

	10 	1.

:

	1.6

	471 	4.

	578 	5.7

	686

:

	172 	1.0

	4 	2.4

	11

:

	7 	0.4

	209

	272 	5.

55	612

2	941

1	01

1	911 	4.2

7	90

4	99

:

21	6

	26

	8

:

	26

67	51

	27

	278

	2

	10

	12

4	9

	21

5	890

1	525

:

:

:

	6

	141

	5

:

	92

	876

:

:

:

	20

	12

	5

:

	121

	649

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

	5.7

	6.6

	8.

	2.5

	4.9

	8.8

	8.1

	7.8

	5.6

	6.2

	4.1

	1.4

	.0

	4.

	9.4

	1.8

	2.

	2.2

	0.4

	2.1

	5.

	5.0

	0.

	0.9

:

	0.1

	0.4

	.5

	4.4

	4.6

	20.6

	1.6

	1.9

:

	0.8

	1.

	2.5

	0.

:

	1.6

	2.1

:

	0.4

	7.

	0.2

	0.0

:

	0.1

:

	1.4

	2.

	0.0

	0.6

	0.1

	0.2

	0.7

	2.

	1.8

:

:

:

	0.0

	0.2

	1.8

:

	2.0

	11.8

	4.1

	4.7

:

	1.7

	.7

	6.

	19.7

:

	6.2

	.5

:

	.8

	5.8

	20.9

	0.9

:

	1.

:

	2.9

	7.1

	1.8

	1.7

	2.2

	0.2

	1.4

	.0

	.

:

:

:

	0.1

	0.2

	1.8

:

	2.6

	8.8

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

notes: 1)	FR:	1999;	EE,	TR:	2000;	BG,	HR:	2001,	PL:	2002(census);	IS,	PT:	200;	EL,	
A,	UK:	2004.	2)	Figures	for	EU-25	and	Euro	area	include	Eurostat	estimates	for	Member	
States	for	which	data	of	1	January	2005	were	not	available.		)	CY,	MT:	Estimated	by	the	
National	Statistical	Office.	4)	HR:	Eurostat	estimate	on	non-nationals.	5)	Non-nationals:	
Instead	of	1990:	CY	1992,	LV	1998,	HU	and	SI	1995.

22

2006_3908new.indd   22

17-01-2007   10:33:55

Population and households

Graph 1.7: Population by citizenship group, EU-25,
1 January 2005

Non-EU-25 nationals
 19.0 million
4.1 %

Other EU-25 nationals
7.3 million
1.6 %

Nationals 433.2 million
94.3 %

19 million non-EU-25 nationals in the EU-25

The	 total	 number	 of	 non-EU-25	 nationals	 living	 in	 the	 25	 Member	 States	 in	
2005	was	around	19	million,	the	equivalent	of	4.1	%	of	the	total	population.		

Apart	 from	 Latvia	 and	 Estonia,	 where	 the	 large	 percentage	 of	 non-EU-25	
nationals	 included	 former	 USSR	 citizens	 who	 have	 not	 taken	 the	 citizenship	
of	host	country	(called	non-citizens	or	persons	with	undetermined	citizenship),	
Greece,	 Austria,	 Germany,	 Spain,	 Cyprus	 and	 Luxemburg	 have	 also	 more	
than	 5	%	 of	 the	 population	 from	 non-EU-25	 countries.	 In	 Malta,	 Lithuania,	
Hungary	 and	 Slovak	 Republic,	 the	 percentage	 of	 non-EU-25	 nationals	 is	
under	1.5	%.

Luxembourg	 is	 a	 unique	 case	 with	 non-nationals	 accounting	 for	 9	%	 of	 the	
population,	of	which	the	large	majority	are	citizens	of	other	EU-25	countries.	
Latvia,	 Cyprus	 and	 Austria	 also	 have	 sizeable	 non-national	 populations	
(between	9	%	and	21	%).	In	contrast,	total	non-nationals	comprised	less	than	
2	%	of	the	populations	of	Lithuania,	Hungary,	Poland	and	Slovak	Republic.

Further reading:	“Non-national	populations	in	the	EU	Member	States”	(Eurostat	SiF,	Popu-
lation	and	Social	Conditions,	8/2006).

2

2006_3908new.indd   23

17-01-2007   10:33:56

Population and households

Table 1.8: asylum applications (1000)

1990

1995

2000

2002

2003

2004

2005

EU-25

:

:

Euro area

24.1

205.5

40.4

26.

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

12.9

11.4

:

5.

:

5.1

19.1

127.9

:

4.1

8.6

:

1.

5.7

54.8

20.4

0.1

.6

:

:

:

0.4

1.8

:

:

:

0.1

0.

:

:

:

:

21.2

29.

:

:

:

:

0.1

0.

:

:

2.7

29.4

8.2

:

:

0.8

9.0

44.0

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

4.0

5.8

1.5

17.0

42.7

8.8

10.

78.6

0.0

.1

7.9

8.7

10.9

15.2

0.7

0.0

0.

0.6

7.8

0.1

4.9

18.

4.7

0.2

9.2

1.6

.2

16.

80.

1.8

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

400.2

24.4

18.8

8.

6.1

71.1

0.0

5.7

6.

51.1

11.6

16.0

0.8

0.0

0.4

1.0

6.4

0.5

18.7

9.4

5.1

0.2

0.7

9.7

.4

.0

85.9

2.9

:

:

1.0

:

0.1

:

17.5

26.1

5.9

202.7

1.6

11.4

4.4

50.6

0.0

8.2

5.9

52.2

7.9

1.7

4.4

0.0

0.4

1.5

2.4

0.5

1.4

2.4

6.8

0.1

1.1

10.

.2

1.4

60.0

1.

:

:

:

:

:

:

267.4

162.7

12.4

5.

2.9

226.2

151.1

12.6

.6

2.1

5.6

28.9

0.0

4.5

5.6

0.0

9.1

5.0

50.5

42.6

4.8

9.6

9.7

0.0

0.2

1.6

1.6

0.8

9.8

24.6

7.9

0.1

1.1

11.4

.6

2.2

40.6

1.0

:

:

:

:

:

:

4.

9.

7.7

0.0

0.1

0.8

1.6

1.0

12.

22.5

5.4

0.1

1.5

.5

.6

17.6

0.8

0.7

:

:

:

:

0.1

:

5.4

:

16.0

:

8.0

:

note:  2000-2005	data	-	based	on	monthly	and	annual	figures.
Source:  Eurostat	-	Asylum	Statistics

24

2006_3908new.indd   24

17-01-2007   10:33:56

Population and households

Graph 1.8: Crude asylum application rate, 2005
(new applications per 1 000 inhabitants)

EE

0.0

LV

0.0

PT

LT

ES

PL

HU

IT

DE

CZ

DK

UK

SK

FI

FR

NL

SI

EL

IE

BE

LU

SE

MT

AT

CY

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.2

0.2

0.4

0.4

0.4

0.5

0.7

0.7

0.7

0.8

0.8

0.8

1.1

1.2

1.8

1.9

2.6

2.7

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

10.3

226 thousand new asylum requests in the EU in 2005

During	 the	 years	 2000	 to	 2005,	 France,	 United	 Kingdom	 and	 Germany	 had	
the	highest	number	of	asylum	applications.	Relative	to	its	population,	Cyprus	
received	the	highest	number	of	asylum	applications	per	1	000	inhabitants	with	
10.,	followed	by	Austria	(2.7),	Malta	(2.6)	and	Sweden	(1.9).

In	 almost	 all	 25	 EU	 Member	 States,	 the	 number	 of	 asylum	 applications	 has	
been	 declining	 since	 2000.	 However,	 Greece	 and	 Cyprus	 have	 recorded	 a	
significant	increase	over	that	period.	89	%	of	all	asylum	applications	in	EU-25	
in	2005	were	registered	in	the	EU-15	Member	States.		

Further information:	Eurostat.	NewCronos	Database	Theme		-	migrat.

25

2006_3908new.indd   25

17-01-2007   10:33:57

Population and households

methodological notes 

•	 Sources:	Eurostat	-	Demographic	Statistics.	For	more	information	
please	 consult	 the	 Eurostat	 website	 at	 http://ec.europa.eu/
eurostat.	 Source	 for	 the	 graph	 on	 the	 world	 population:	 US	
Census	Bureau.

•	 The	 “total  fertility  rate”	 is	 defined	 as	 the	 average	 number	 of	
children	 that	 would	 be	 born	 to	 a	 woman	 during	 her	 lifetime	 if	
she	 were	 to	 pass	 through	 all	 childbearing	 years	 conforming	 to	
the	 age	 specific	 fertility	 rates	 that	 have	 been	 measured	 in	 a	
given	 year.	 In	 the	 more	 developed	 parts	 of	 the	 world	 today,	 a	
total	fertility	rate	of	2.1	children	per	woman	is	considered	to	be	
the	replacement	level,	i.e.	the	level	at	which	a	population	would	
remain	stable	in	the	long	run	if	there	was	no	inward	or	outward	
migration.

•	 The	 Eurostat  population  projections	 presented	 here	
correspond	 to	 the	 baseline	 variant	 of	 the	 Trend	 scenario.	 The	
Eurostat	set	of	population	projections	is	just	one	among	several	
scenarios	 of	 population	 evolution	 based	 on	 assumptions	 of	
fertility,	mortality	and	migration.	The	current	Trend	scenario	does	
not	take	into	account	any	future	measures	that	could	influence	
demographic	 trends	 and	 comprises	 different	 variants	 reflecting	
different	 combinations	 of	 the	 base,	 high,	 low	 assumptions	
for	 the	 respective	 components,	 i.e.	 fertility,	 mortality	 and	 net	
migration.:	the	‘baseline’	variant	as	well	as	‘high	population’,	‘low	
population’,	 ‘zero-migration’,	 ‘high	 fertility’,	 younger-age	 profile	
population	 variant	 and	 older-age	 profile	 population	 variant	 are	
all	 available	 on	 the	 Eurostat’s	 website.	 It	 should	 be	 noted	 that	
the	 assumptions	 adopted	 by	 Eurostat	 may	 differ	 from	 those	
adopted	by	National	Statistical	Institutes.	Therefore,	results	can	
be	different	from	those	published	by	Member	States.

•	 migration	 can	 be	 extremely	 difficult	 to	 measure.	 A	 variety	 of	
different	 data	 sources	 and	 definitions	 are	 used	 in	 the	 Member	
States	 that	 can	 make	 direct	 comparisons	 between	 national	
statistics	 difficult	 or	 misleading.	 The	 net	 migration	 figures	 here	
are	not	directly	calculated	from	immigration	and	emigration	flow	
figures.	As	many	EU	Member	States	do	not	have	complete	and	
comparable	 figures	 for	 immigration	 and	 emigration	 flows,	 net	
migration	is	estimated	here	as	the	difference	between	the	total	
population	 change	 and	 the	 “natural	 increase”	 over	 the	 year.	 In	
effect,	 net	 migration	 equals	 all	 changes	 in	 total	 population	 that	
cannot	be	attributed	to	births	and	deaths.

26

2006_3908new.indd   26

17-01-2007   10:33:57

2.  

EdUCaTIon  
and TraInInG

2006_3908new.indd   27

17-01-2007   10:33:57

Education and training

Table 2.1: Percentage of population with at least upper 
secondary educational level (ISCEd 3-6), by age group, 2005

25-34 years

35-44 years

45-54 years

55-64 years

Women men Women men Women men Women men

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

79

76

82

9

87

8

92

80

68

82

85

70

80

84

90

76

85

8

82

8

92

48

92

92

92

90

77

77

85

:

78

:

68

:

95

72

76

72

78

94

87

85

85

68

58

79

79

62

79

75

85

77

84

48

80

89

91

6

90

9

86

89

79

77

87

:

80

:

62

:

95

84

72

68

74

91

86

84

97

68

55

71

7

56

75

95

97

65

79

2

75

76

89

28

84

91

90

91

68

81

76

:

84

:

61

:

9

64

7

68

70

95

84

87

9

6

5

72

66

51

76

92

9

71

8

8

77

87

90

2

8

94

86

88

74

79

79

:

87

:

66

:

91

81

6

56

58

8

76

79

9

50

8

57

58

4

55

90

9

55

70

11

64

66

8

20

71

81

81

85

6

75

64

:

6

:

5

:

87

59

70

6

61

94

78

88

89

51

4

6

5

48

61

86

91

65

82

2

74

81

84

18

78

90

76

78

77

7

78

:

80

:

69

:

86

80

50

4

4

76

70

71

81

27

20

46

42

25

2

74

68

44

54

9

49

5

66

12

60

69

62

74

55

58

46

:

7

:

9

:

75

50

62

55

52

91

79

86

78

7

0

56

8

4

48

66

70

66

68

19

69

76

74

14

79

84

61

69

7

57

74

:

60

:

62

:

80

78

Source: Labour	Force	Survey	2005.

28

2006_3908new.indd   28

17-01-2007   10:33:58

Education and training

Graph 2.1: Percentage of early school leavers (young aged 18-24
with at most lower secondary education and not in further 
education or training), 2005

(SI)

4.3

5.5

5.8

6.4

8.5

9.0

9.2

9.3

11.7

11.9

12.3

12.3

12.6

13.0

13.3

13.3

13.6

13.8

14.0

14.0

15.2

PL

SK

CZ

DK

AT

LT

FI

SE

LV

HU

IE

FR

BE

EL

LU

NL

DE

EE

UK

EU-25

CY

Euro area

IT

ES

PT

MT

(HR)

4.8

18.1

18.1

21.9

20.0

20.8

30.8

38.6

41.2

BG

RO

TR

IS

NO

51.3

4.6

26.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Source: Eurostat - European Union Labour Force Survey 2005.
Note:  SI, HR - Due to the small number of observations data are not reliable.

young Europeans better educated but early school 
leavers still numerous

In	2005,	56	%	of	persons	aged	55-64	had	at	least	upper	secondary	educational	
level	comparing	to	78	%	for	the	generation	of	their	potential	children	(aged	25-
4).	 This	 difference	 between	 generations	 is	 more	 important	 for	 women	 and	
particularly	impressive	in	the	Southern	countries.	

On	the	other	hand,	in	the	same	year,	15	%	of	the	young	Europeans	aged	18-24	
were	the	early	school	leavers	(attained	at	most	lower	secondary	level	and	were	
not	 in	 further	 education	 or	 training).	 In	 some	 countries	 -	 Spain,	 Portugal	 and	
Malta	-	more	than	0	%	of	the	young	people	aged	18-24	have	left	school	at	the	
lower	secondary	level.	

29

2006_3908new.indd   29

17-01-2007   10:33:58

Education and training

Table 2.2: Participation in education, 2003/2004

age at which 
compulsory 
education 
ends

Pupils and students (ISCEd 1-6) 
as % of corresponding age group

Participation rates 
(16-18 year olds) 
by sex

aged 15 to 24 years old

aged 18 years old

Total males Females

Total males Females males Females

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

-

-

18

15

16

18

16

15

16

16

15

15

15

16

16

15

16

16

17

15

16

15

15

16

16

16

16

16

:

14

15

:

16

15

16

:

60

60

68

59

66

64

6

62

55

60

59

54

42

65

69

44

60

4

6

52

69

52

68

52

70

68

58

49

54

9

47

27

66

26

64

57

58

58

66

58

6

64

59

58

51

58

58

51

42

61

66

4

58

42

64

51

66

48

6

51

67

6

55

49

52

8

45

1

64

28

61

59

6

62

71

60

69

64

67

66

59

62

59

57

4

69

72

45

62

4

6

5

71

56

7

54

7

72

61

49

57

41

50

2

69

24

66

55

78

79

90

91

81

86

81

76

69

80

8

77

0

8

89

69

76

40

78

76

87

65

87

82

9

95

61

74

6

50

58

0

75

19

86

81

75

76

88

88

80

85

77

69

6

78

7

7

26

80

87

67

75

44

78

75

85

59

84

80

9

90

58

7

57

47

5

6

7

20

84

84

81

82

92

9

8

86

84

8

74

82

94

81

5

86

91

72

78

5

79

77

89

71

91

84

94

100

64

74

69

5

64

2

77

19

88

76

85

86

98

96

85

92

88

76

77

89

84

79

64

89

95

75

87

56

87

86

92

68

9

88

95

94

76

81

80

66

66

46

82

27

90

90

89

89

100

97

88

91

92

84

85

91

97

85

72

92

96

81

86

61

88

85

94

79

95

89

95

100

8

80

85

65

71



86



92

84

notes: 1)	CY	and	LU:	Most	tertiary	students	study	abroad	and	are	not	included.		
2)	LU:	Also	many	pupils	at	ISCED	levels	1,	2	and		study	abroad	and	are	not	included	
in	enrolment	but	are	in	population	data,	therefore	all	participation	rates	by	age	are	
underestimated.

0

2006_3908new.indd   30

17-01-2007   10:33:59

Education and training

Graph 2.2: Youngest age at which the employment rate 
reaches 50 %, 2005 

21

21

21

21

23

23

23

23

23

22

22

22

22

22

19

19

19

20

20

20

24

24

24

24

24

24

24

EU-25

Euro area

BE

CZ

DK

DE

EE

EL

ES

FR

IE

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

BG

HR

MK

RO

TR

IS

LI

NO

CH

16

16

17

17

18

17

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Source: Labour Force Survey, 2005.

Prolonged education and training

For	most	Member	States,	full-time	compulsory	schooling	ends	at	15-16	years	
of	age.	However,	the	vast	majority	of	young	people	choose	to	stay	on	longer	
in	education	or	training.	In	the	school	year	200/2004,	78	%	of	18-year-olds	in	
the	EU-25	were	still	in	education.	

Overall,	participation	rates	for	females	are	higher	than	for	males.	The	gap	is	
particularly	 significant	 in	 Ireland	 and	 in	 South	 European	 Member	 States	 as	
Portugal,	 Spain,	 Greece	 and	 Italy	 in	 favour	 of	 females.	 Only	 Turkey	 has	 a	
significantly	higher	male	participation	rate	compared	to	women.

The	young	people	stay	longer	in	education	and	are	entering	the	labour	market	
at	a	later	age.	For	EU-25,	it	is	not	until	the	age	of	22	that	50	%	of	young	people	
are	in	employment	(in	the	reference	week	they	have	paid	work	of	at	least	one	
hour).	 However,	 there	 are	 considerable	 differences	 between	 countries.	 The	
average	age	is	24	in	Luxembourg,	Poland	and	Romania,	compared	to	16	in	
Denmark	and	Iceland	and	17	in	the	Netherlands	and	the	United	Kingdom.	In	
these	latter	countries,	many	young	people	are	working	part-time.	

Further reading:	“Key	data	on	education	in	Europe	2005”,	European	Commission.	Statis-
tics	in	Focus	-	10/2005	“Education	in	Europe	-	Key	statistics	2002/200”,	Eurostat.		Statis-
tics	in	Focus	-	19/2005	–	“17	million	tertiary	students	in	the	European	Union”,	Eurostat.

1

2006_3908new.indd   31

17-01-2007   10:34:00

Education and training

Table 2.3: Foreign language learning, 2003/2004

average number 
of languages 
learnt per pupil, 
2003/04

Primary

General 
secondary

Percentage of pupils learning selected 
foreign languages in general secondary 
education, 2003/04

English

French

German

Spanish

russian

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.5

0.7

0.4

1.1

0.9

0.9

0.0

0.1

1.0

0.6

0.6

0.6

1.8

0.5

1.0

0.

:

0.8

0.4

0.

0.5

0.8

0.9

0.7

0.5

0.4

0.2

0.6

0.6

0.6

:

1.0

:

1.

1.

1.7

1.2

2.1

1.2

2.1

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

1.

1.7

1.7

1.7

2.6

1.1

1.9

2.6

:

1.4

:

1.

1.

2.4

1.8

0.6

1.4

:

:

1.9

0.7

1.9

:

:

:

84.9

82.1

69.5

75.8

99.1

94.2

92.

96.9

97.

96.5

-

88.4

88.4

95.2

85.

6.2

60.8

88.8

:

:

79.6

:

84.7

68.9

99.1

100.0

-

69.

:

:

91.7

66.1

86.6

:

:

:

19.2

17.5

52.0

4.8

14.9

2.

.7

9.1

6.6

-

67.6

0.5

6.7

1.5

5.0

99.1

.2

6.9

:

:

5.8

:

.6

4.2

12.8

19.1

4.4

1.0

:

:

86.0

0.8

8.4

:

:

:

16.8

14.9

14.8

8.2

84.5

-

0.2

20.2

2.0

18.4

21.0

5.4

2.6

24.6

27.8

99.1

47.0

7.0

:

-

46.0

:

7.6

46.7

26.

29.7

1.9

2.4

:

:

11.

.8

19.6

:

:

:

9.4

8.7

2.1

1.4

7.8

.2

0.

:

-

41.6

6.7

1.8

2.4

0.2

0.1

1.5

0.6

2.

:

:

0.

:

1.1

0.8

.2

26.8

6.6

.2

:

:

0.7

:

7.8

:

:

:

.0

.0

:

1.1

0.1

2.0

58.8

:

:

0.

0.0

:

0.6

4.6

54.2

:

0.5

0.0

:

8.2

:

0.1

4.

2.4

0.1

0.2

25.6

:

:

.4

:

0.

:

:

:

Source: Eurostat	Education	statistics

2

2006_3908new.indd   32

17-01-2007   10:34:01

Education and training

Graph 2.3: Percentage of pupils learning selected foreign languages 
in general secondary education, EU-25, 2003/2004

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

89.4 %

19.2 %

16.8 %

9.4 %

3.0 %

English

French

German

Spanish

Russian

English the most widely-taught language at school

In	 all	 Member	 States,	 the	 teaching	 of	 foreign	 languages	 begins	 in	 primary	
education.	 In	 France	 and	 Ireland,	 however,	 there	 was	 little	 language	 tuition	
at	 this	 level	 in	 200/2004.	 In	 Luxembourg,	 most	 pupils	 learn	 two	 foreign	
languages	already	in	primary	education.

Pupils	 enrolled	 in	 general	 secondary	 education	 were	 learning	 on	 average	
1.	 foreign	 languages	 in	 200/2004.	 In	 Denmark,	 Estonia,	 Luxembourg,	 the	
Netherlands	and	Finland	pupils	learnt	two	or	more	languages	on	average.

English	 is	 the	 most	 widely	 taught	 foreign	 language	 in	 secondary	 schools	 in	
all	Member	States	except	in	Luxembourg.	More	than	90	%	of	the	pupils	were	
being	 taught	 English	 in	 general	 secondary	 education	 in	 ten	 Member	 States.	
French	is	the	second	most	popular	language	in	seven	Member	States,	studied	
by	 68	%	 in	 Ireland,	 52	%	 in	 Belgium	 (all	 communities)	 and	 64	%	 in	 Cyprus.	
German	is	a	popular	language	in	all	the	new	Central	and	Eastern	European	
Member	states	as	well	as	in	the	Nordic	Member	States.	In	the	Baltic	countries,	
Russian	is	the	second	language,	learnt	by	more	than	50	%	of	pupils	in	Estonia	
and	Lithuania	and	by	44	%	in	Latvia.	More	than	40	%	of	pupils	in	France	and	
27	%	of	pupils	in	Sweden	were	studying	Spanish	in	200/2004.	

Further  reading:	 “Key	 data	 on	 Teaching	 Languages	 at	 School	 in	 Europe	 2005”,	 Euro-
pean	 Commission.	 	 Statistics	 in	 Focus	 -	 10/2005	 “Education	 in	 Europe	 -	 Key	 statistics	
2002/200”,	Eurostat.



2006_3908new.indd   33

17-01-2007   10:34:01

Education and training

Table 2.4: Tertiary education (ISCEd levels 5-6)

number of 
students 
in tertiary 
education

Students in tertiary 
education, all ages,  
as % of 20-24 years old 
in population

Females 
per 100 
males in 
tertiary 
education

median age 
of students 
in tertiary 
education

2003/2004

1999/2000

2003/2004

2003/2004

2003/2004

EU-25

17	18	75

Euro area 10	965	458

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

	86	110

	18	858

	217	10

2	0	457

	65	659

	597	007

1	89	90

2	160	00

	188	15

1	986	497

	20	849

	127	656

	182	656

		077

	422	177

	7	867

	54	96

	28	522

2	044	298

	95	06

	104	96

	164	667

	299	888

	429	62

2	247	441

	228	468

	126	22

	46	67

	685	718

1	972	662

	14	710

		52

	21	845

	195	947

57.7

56.4

59.9

4.1

72.7

47.8

65.

75.9

60.6

54.9

55.7

61.2

5.8

74.9

7.4

11.9

59.0

26.0

56.1

46.7

62.6

5.0

71.

5.9

90.6

82.6

59.

41.4

40.7

28.5

41.

29.

66.6

24.7

78.0

44.9

50.7

51.2

56.6

28.5

55.7

45.4

56.7

50.

56.

54.4

51.8

47.8

20.8

56.5

51.5

11.1

6.4

21.7

51.0

55.7

49.9

46.8

55.4

28.6

82.4

66.7

58.1

41.6

:

22.6

2.1

:

45.9

2.

68.5

:

121.2

114.5

116.5

105.1

17.

97.6

161.6

107.1

116.6

122.4

12.2

128.4

92.0

164.9

150.0

114.1

14.0

126.7

10.6

114.

15.6

127.6

11.8

117.7

114.5

147.2

12.8

110.4

116.0

12.7

121.2

70.6

181.9

6.4

147.4

81.6

22.1

22.0

20.7

21.9

25.

2.8

22.0

20.7

22.0

20.7

20.

22.2

20.8

22.7

21.5

:

22.5

21.

21.7

2.2

21.6

22.2

22.1

21.6

24.2

25.5

22.9

21.6

20.5

20.7

21.4

20.9

25.6

24.9

25.0

24.2

note: CY,	LU	and	LI:	Most	tertiary	students	study	abroad	and	are	not	included.

4

2006_3908new.indd   34

17-01-2007   10:34:02

Education and training

Graph 2.4: Percentage of women in tertiary education and training  
per field of study, EU-25, 2003/2004

Education

Health and welfare

Humanities and arts

Social sciences,
business and law

All fields

Services

Agriculture and
veterinary science

Science, mathemaitics
and computing

Engineering, manufacturing
and construction

75.0 %

75.0 %

65.9 %

56.9 %

54.8 %

52.9 %

48.3 %

37.0 %

23.4 %

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90% 100%

Greater numbers in tertiary education, particularly 
women

In	 200/2004,	 there	 were	 17.	 million	 students	 enrolled	 in	 tertiary	 education	
in	 EU-25.	 There	 are	 now	 7	 million	 more	 students	 among	 20-24	 years	 old	
compared	to	1999/2000	in	EU-25.

EU-wide,	there	are	121	females	for	every	100	males	in	tertiary	education.	In	
the	Baltic	countries,	the	ratio	is	above	150,	in	Sweden	as	in	Norway	147.	Only	
in	 Germany	 and	 Cyprus,	 does	 the	 number	 of	 males	 exceed	 the	 number	 of	
females.	In	Germany	the	ratio	is	98	to	100	and	in	Cyprus	92	to	100.

On	 average,	 the	 median	 age	 of	 students	 in	 tertiary	 education	 is	 22	 years	 in	
EU-25.	Both	part-time	and	full-time	students	are	included.	This	figure	ranges	
from	20	in	Ireland	to	25.5	in	Sweden,	reflecting	both	the	different	ages	at	which	
students	enter	tertiary	education,	the	length	of	study	and	the	participation	of	
adults,	often	on	part-time	basis,	in	tertiary	education.

Females	account	for	three	out	of	four	of	students	in	education	related	studies	
(75	%),	health	and	welfare	(75	%)	and	humanities	and	arts	(66	%).	However,	
they	 are	 considerably	 under-represented	 in	 engineering,	 manufacturing	 and	
construction	studies	(2	%)	and	Science,	mathematics	and	computing	studies	
(7	%).

Further reading:	“Key	data	on	education	in	Europe	2005”,	European	Commission.	Statis-
tics	in	Focus	-	10/2005	“Education	in	Europe	-	Key	statistics	2002/200”,	Eurostat.		Statis-
tics	in	Focus	-	19/2005	–	“17	million	tertiary	students	in	the	European	Union”,	Eurostat.

5

2006_3908new.indd   35

17-01-2007   10:34:02

Education and training

Table 2.5: Lifelong learning: Participation rate in lifelong 
learning, by age group, 2003

Formal education

non formal 
education/ 
training

Informal learning

25-44

45-64

25-44

45-64

25-44

45-64

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

7

6

6



1

6

7

2

7

2

7

7

4

8

5

2

5

2

11

5

7

6

14

2

16

21

11

2

:

:

2

:

:

:

5

10

2

1

2

0

2

0

0

0

2

:

1



0

1

0

0

0

1

4

0

0

1

1

0



6

5

0

:

:

0

:

:

:

2

2

20

16

24

16

50

16

19

7

1

25

6

16

26

16

9

19

7

1

14

1

1

12

0

2

45

48

9

2

:

:

1

:

:

:

6

56

1

9

15

10

44

10

11

2

6

14

4

12

14

11

7

12



6

8

19

6

6

17

17

8

48

0

1

:

:

0

:

:

:

0

50

6

4

6

24

67

41

0

18

19

52

52

47

6

47

29

84

7

5

5

85

2

48

79

59

75

56

:

19

:

:

11

:

:

:

:

28

4

28

19

64

4

20

10

12

40

40

42

22

7

20

77

5

51

0

87

20

5

77

54

64

50

:

12

:

:

7

:

:

:

:

52

48

Source: LFS	ad	hoc	module	on	lifelong	learning,	200

6

2006_3908new.indd   36

17-01-2007   10:34:03

Education and training

Graph 2.5: Participation rate (%) in non-formal education of persons 
aged 25-64, by educational level, 2003 

Low

High

SE

DK

FI

UK

SI

AT

CY

SK

LU

FR

BE

LV

PL

EU-25

PT

CZ

EE

DE

Euro area

MT

IE

ES

LT

NL

IT

EL

HU

BG

RO

NO

CH

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Source:  LFS ad hoc module on lifelong learning, 2003
Notes:  Low educational level: ISCED 1 and 2 (primary and lower secondary) 
High educational level: ISCED 5 and 6 (tertiary education).

Participation in lifelong learning strongly influenced by 
age and educational level 

In	 the	 Nordic	 countries	 and	 the	 United	 Kingdom	 an	 important	 percentage	 of	
the	population	aged	25-64	participate	either	in	formal	education	provided	in	the	
regular	system	of	schools	and	universities	or	in	non-formal	education	taught	
outside	the	regular	system.	Austria,	Luxembourg	and	Slovenia	show	a	highest	
part	 of	 persons	 declaring	 informal	 learning	 (self	 studying	 by	 making	 use	 of	
printed	materials,	computer,	broadcasting	or	learning	centres).	

The	younger	people	and	those	higher	educated	are	more	likely	to	participate	
in	 lifelong	 learning,	 particularly	 in	 non-formal	 education	 undertaken	 for	 the	
job-related	reasons.

7

2006_3908new.indd   37

17-01-2007   10:34:03

Education and training

Table 2.6: Continuing Vocational Training in enterprises, 1999: 
key indicators

Training 
enterprises 
as % of all 
enterprises

Employees 
in training 
enterprises 
% of 
employees 
in all 
enterprises

Participants 
in CVT 
courses % of 
employees 
in all 
enterprises

Hours 
in CVT 
courses per 
participant

Hours 
in CVT 
courses per 
employee (all 
enterprises)

87

82

88

88

99

92

79

56

64

9

92

56

:

74

67

87

60

:

96

90

57

52

81

:

95

98

97

57

:

:

44

:

:

:

94

:

9

4

41

42

5

2

19

15

25

46

41

26

:

12

10

6

12

:

41

1

16

17

2

:

50

61

49

1

:

:

8

:

:

:

48

:

0



1

25

41

27

1

9

42

6

40

2

:

4

41

9

8

:

7

29

28

8

24

:

6

1

26

5

:

:

42

:

:

:



:

11

11

1

10

22

9

6

6

11

17

17

8

:

4

4

14

5

:

15

9

4

7

8

:

18

18

1

4

:

:



:

:

:

16

:

61

55

70

69

96

75

6

18

6

76

79

24

:

5

4

71

7

:

88

72

9

22

48

:

82

91

87

28

:

:

11

:

:

:

86

:

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

8

2006_3908new.indd   38

17-01-2007   10:34:04

Education and training

Graph 2.6 Total cost (in PPS) of CVT courses per employee 
(all enterprises) and per participant - 1999 

IT
DK
NL
NO
LU
BE
FR
DE
EL
ES
EU-25
IE
SE
FI
PT
UK
HU
AT
BG
EE
LV
LT
CZ
PL
RO
SI

Employees

Participants

1000

0

2000

north-south divide in the percentage of enterprises 
providing CVT in the EU

The	second	European	survey	of	continuing	vocational	training	in	enterprises	
(CVTS2)	 was	 implemented	 in	 2000/2001	 in	 all	 the	 Member	 States,	 Norway	
and	 the	 then	 nine	 candidate	 countries.	The	 survey	 covered	 enterprises	 with	
10	 and	 more	 persons	 employed	 in	 the	 sections	 C	 to	 K	 and	 O	 according	 to	
the	classification	of	economic	activities	NACE	Rev.	1;	the	reference	year	was	
1999.

In	the	northern	European	countries,	the	share	of	training	enterprises	and	the	
participation	 in	 continuing	 vocational	 training	 is	 higher	 than	 in	 the	 south	 of	
Europe.	The	 proportion	 of	 all	 enterprises	 that	 provided	 CVT	 in	 1999	 ranged	
from	11	%	in	Romania	to	96	%	in	Denmark,	while	the	participation	rate	ranged	
from	 8	%	 in	 Romania	 to	 61	%	 in	 Sweden.	 By	 contrast,	 the	 intensity	 of	 CVT	
training,	 expressed	 in	 terms	 of	 training	 hours	 per	 participant,	 was	 higher	 in	
the	 southern	 than	 in	 the	 northern	 European	 countries,	 with	 the	 exception	 of	
Denmark.

Further  reading:  Statistics  in  focus:	 Continuing	 vocational	 training	 in	 enterprises	 in	 the	
European	Union	and	Norway,	(Theme		-	/2002)	-	Costs	and	funding	of	continuing	voca-
tional	training	in	enterprises	in	Europe,	(Theme		-	8/2002)	-	Providers	and	fields	of	training	
in	enterprises	in	Europe,	(Theme		-	10/2002)	-	Disparities	in	access	to	continuing	voca-
tional	training	in	enterprises	in	Europe	-	(Theme		-	22/2002),	-	Working	time	spent	on	con-
tinuing	vocational	training	in	enterprises	in	Europe,	(Theme		–	1/200).	European social 
statistics	-	Continuing	vocational	training	survey	(CVTS2)	-	Detailed	Tables,	2002	edition.			

9

2006_3908new.indd   39

17-01-2007   10:34:04

Education and training

Table 2.7: Expenditure on education, 2003

Total public 
expenditure  
on education 
as a percentage 
of GdP

Expenditure (from both  
public and private sources)  
per pupil/student in public institutions 
by level of education, PPS

Financial aid 
to students as 
a percentage 
of total public 
expenditure on 
education

Total  
(ISCEd 0-6)

Primary  
(ISCEd 1)

Secondary 
(ISCEd 2-4)

Tertiary 
(ISCEd 5-6)

Total  
(ISCEd 0-6)

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

5.2

5.0

6.1

4.6

8.

4.7

5.7

.9

4.

5.9

4.4

4.7

7.4

5.

5.2

4.1

5.9

4.8

5.1

5.5

5.6

5.6

6.0

4.4

6.5

7.5

5.4

4.2

4.7

.4

.4

.7

8.0

:

7.6

6.0

4	582

4	628

6	024

1	928

7	016

	928

2	10

2	950

4	727

4	77

4	06

6	286

4	446

1	940

:

9	798

2	804

2	481

:

:

:

	902

5	502

1	752

4	57

6	189

4	745

1	184

2	04

:

	806

	741

6	688

6	66

6	888

6	928

5	659

6	010

7	182

	45

7	079

4	529

2	879

4	242

6	42

7	907

5	85

6	774

7	524

2	11

:

14	575

	69

	61

:

:

:

5	464

	761

2	086

6	259

6	9

6	104

1	260

2	414

:

	997

1	219

5	961

5	478

7	102

7	907

8	40

8	90

9	696

5	689

11	960

9	99

4	21

4	202

7	92

9	046

8	190

7	479

15	496

4	188

	20

:

7	19

5	77

:

:

:

6	14

15	886

	992

10	552

1	655

:

	478

	481

:

1	902

	626

7	171

:

12	958

2	495

5.6

5.

4.7

4.6

19.6

7.5

.9

2.1

2.8

.8

6.7

4.6

11.9

7.9

7.1

2.

6.7

9.

11.1

4.

0.

1.4

9.0

.0

7.6

12.

5.0

7.8

0.8

2.6

1.9

4.8

4.6

15.

4.

1.4

Source: Eurostat	-	UOE	(Unesco,	OECD	and	Eurostat)	questionnaires	on	education	
statistics.

40

2006_3908new.indd   40

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Education and training

Graph 2.7: Total public expenditure on education 
as a percentage of GDP, 2003

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Euro area
EU- 25

BECZDKDEEEELESFR IEITCYLVLTLUHUMTNLATPLPTSISKFISEUKBGHRMKROTRISNOCH

Public expenditure on education: 5.2 % of GdP in EU-25

In	200,	total	public	expenditure	on	education	accounted	for	5.2	%	of	the	GDP	
of	the	EU-25.	Total	public	expenditure	on	education	as	%	of	GDP	ranged	from	
.9	%	of	GDP	in	Greece	to	8.	%	in	Denmark.	

In	 most	 countries,	 expenditure	 per	 student	 increases	 with	 the	 level	 of	
education.	In	the	EU	4	582	EUR	PPS	were	spent	by	pupil	at	primary	level	of	
education,	 5	659	 EUR	 PPS	 at	 secondary	 level	 of	 education	 and	 8	40	 EUR	
PPS	at	tertiary	level	of	education.

Total	 financial	 aid	 awarded	 predominantly	 to	 students	 accounts	 for	 5.6	%	 of	
total	 public	 expenditure	 on	 education	 in	 EU-25.	 This	 proportion	 tends	 to	 be	
higher	in	the	northern	EU-25	Member	States.

41

2006_3908new.indd   41

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2006_3908new.indd   42

17-01-2007   10:34:05

3.  

LaboUr marKET

2006_3908new.indd   43

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Labour market

Table 3.1. Employment

Employment 
rates

Persons in employment by branch
(percentage share of total), 2005

15-64

55-64 agriculture

Industry Services

Percentage 
of persons in 
employment 
who are
employees

EU-25

	6.8	

	42.5	

Euro area 	6.5	

	40.4	

	4.9	

	4.	

	2.0	

	4.0	

	.2	

	2.4	

	5.	

	61.1	

	1.8	

	64.8	

	44.5	

	75.9	

	59.5	

	65.4	

	45.4	

	64.4	

	56.1	

	60.1	

	41.6	

	12.4	

	6.	

	4.1	

	6.1	

	7.9	

	67.6	

	51.6	

	57.6	

	1.4	

	68.5	

	50.6	

	6.	

	49.5	

	62.6	

	49.2	

	6.6	

	1.7	

	56.9	

	.0	

	5.9	

	0.8	

	7.2	

	46.1	

	68.6	

	1.8	

	52.8	

	27.2	

	67.5	

	50.5	

	66.0	

	0.7	

	57.7	

	0.	

	68.4	

	52.7	

	72.5	

	69.4	

	71.7	

	56.9	

	55.8	

	4.7	

	5.	

	.8	

	5.9	

	4.2	

	4.7	

	11.8	

	14.0	

	1.7	

	4.9	

	2.0	

	.	

	5.5	

	17.4	

	11.8	

	9.1	

	4.8	

	4.8	

	2.	

	1.4	

	8.9	

	55.0	

	2.6	

	17.	

	:	

	:	

:

	27.5	

	27.8	

	24.7	

	9.5	

	2.9	

	29.8	

	4.0	

	22.4	

	29.7	

	24.	

	27.4	

	0.8	

	24.0	

	26.5	

	29.1	

	17.	

	2.5	

	0.0	

	20.5	

	27.5	

	29.2	

	0.6	

	7.1	

	8.8	

	25.8	

	21.9	

	22.0	

	4.2	

	28.6	

:

	67.6	

	67.9	

	7.	

	56.5	

	72.9	

	67.8	

	60.7	

	65.2	

	65.0	

	71.9	

	66.7	

	65.0	

	71.2	

	61.7	

	56.9	

	81.0	

	62.7	

	68.0	

	76.1	

	66.9	

	5.4	

	57.6	

	5.8	

	56.4	

	69.4	

	75.8	

	76.6	

	56.8	

	54.1	

:

	8.5	

	8.2	

	84.8	

	84.0	

	91.1	

	87.6	

	91.9	

	6.6	

	81.7	

	89.1	

	8.2	

	7.	

	76.8	

	88.5	

	8.0	

	92.0	

	86.	

	86.	

	88.5	

	86.7	

	74.2	

	74.5	

	84.8	

	87.0	

	87.	

	89.4	

	86.9	

	85.7	

	75.1	

:

	57.6	

	9.4	

	2.	

	0.5	

	7.	

	64.6	

	46.0	

	1.0	

	8.8	

	84.	

	:	

	:	

	74.8	

	65.5	

	:	

	:	

:

	6.5	

	:	

	.	

	4.0	

:

:

:

	21.7	

	71.8	

	84.8	

	:	

	20.9	

	2.0	

	:	

	75.8	

	7.0	

	:	

	92.4	

	84.7	

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

note: Data	refer	to	2005.	Employment	rates	represent	persons	in	employment	aged	
15-64	as	a	percentage	of	the	population	of	the	same	age.	Persons	in	employment	are	
those	who	during	the	reference	week	(of	the	Labour	Force	Survey)	did	any	work	for	pay	
or	profit	for	at	least	one	hour	or	were	not	working	but	had	jobs	from	which	they	were	
temporarily	absent.	Family	workers	are	included.
Sources: Employment	rates:	Eurostat,	Eurostat,	structural	indicators	2005	-		based	
on	the	European	Union	Labour	Force	Survey;	Branch	and	employee	data:	Eurostat:	
European	Union	Labour	Force	Survey,	annual	averages,	except	for	CH	(spring	data).

44

2006_3908new.indd   44

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Labour market

Graph 3.1: Average annual employment growth 2001-2005

3.7

2.9

2.9

3.1

1.6

1.1 1.3

1.2

1.1

0.6

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

%

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

-0.5

-1.0

0.8

0.7

0.5

0.1

-0.2

-0.2

2.1

0.8

0.9

0.9

0.6 0.6

0.3 0.3

0.4

0.3

0.3

0.2

0.7

0.1

0.1

-0.2

-0.6

EU
25

Euro
area

BE CZ DK DE EE GR ES FR IE

IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT SI SK FI SE UK BG HR RO TR IS NO

63.8 % of persons in employment

Over	 the	 period	 2000-2005,	 the	 annual	 employment	 in	 the	 EU-25	 grew	
0.7	%	 per	 year	 on	 the	 average.	 The	 2005	 employment	 rate	 (6.8	%)	 was	
considerably	 off	 the	 2005	 objective	 (67	%)	 set	 during	 the	 Stockholm	 summit	
of	 the	 European	 Council	 (March	 2001).	 The	 2005	 employment	 rates	 for	 the	
population	aged	15-64	ranged	from	52.8	%	in	Poland	to	75.9	%	in	Denmark,	
8.8	%	in	Iceland.	

EU-wide,	 4.9	%	 were	 employed	 in	 agriculture,	 27.5	%	 in	 industry	 and	 the	
remaining	 67.6	%	 in	 services.	 This	 pattern	 was	 rather	 similar	 throughout	
the	 Member	 States	 with	 the	 exception	 of	 Poland,	 Lithuania,	 Latvia,	 Greece	
and	 Portugal,	 which	 still	 have	 a	 relatively	 large	 share	 of	 people	 working	 in	
agriculture.	This	is	also	the	case	in	Croatia	and	Romania.	Greece,	Romania,	
Italy,	 Poland	 and	 Portugal	 had	 the	 lowest	 share	 of	 employees	 among	
employed	persons	(64	%,	65	%,	7	%,	74	%	and	75	%	respectively)	compared	
with	8.5	%	in	the	EU-25.

More	 than	 two-fifths	 (42.5	%)	 of	 persons	 around	 the	 retirement	 age	 (55-64)	
were	 in	 employment.	 The	 rates	 ranged	 from	 27.2	%	 in	 Poland	 to	 69.4	%	 in	
Sweden,	84.	%	in	Iceland.

Further reading:	“Employment	in	Europe	2006”,	European	Commission.	“The	social	situa-
tion	in	the	European	Union	2004”,	European	Commission.	Eurostat	Free	Data	on	the	World	
Wide	Web,	Theme	Population	and	social	conditions	–	labour	market.

45

2006_3908new.indd   45

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Labour market

Table 3.2: Equal opportunities in employment

Employment rates by age and sex, 
2005

15-64 years

55-64 years

Percentage 
of persons in 
employment 
working
part-time by sex, 
2005

Percentage of 
employees with a
fixed-term 
contract

males Females males Females males Females males Females

71.

71.8

68.

7.

79.8

71.2

67.0

74.2

75.2

68.8

76.9

69.9

79.2

67.6

66.1

7.

6.1

7.8

79.9

75.4

58.9

7.4

70.4

64.6

70.

74.4

77.6

60.0

61.7

:

6.7

68.2

86.9

:

56.

55.2

5.8

56.

71.9

59.6

62.1

46.1

51.2

57.6

58.

45.

58.4

59.

59.4

5.7

51.0

.7

66.4

62.0

46.8

61.7

61.

50.9

66.5

70.4

65.9

51.7

48.6

:

51.5

2.8

80.5

:

51.8

49.7

41.7

59.

65.6

5.5

59.

58.8

59.7

40.7

65.7

42.7

70.8

55.2

59.1

8.

40.6

50.8

56.9

41.

5.9

58.1

4.1

47.8

52.8

72.0

66.0

45.5

4.0

:

46.7

45.4

88.9

:

.7

1.5

22.1

0.9

5.5

7.5

5.7

25.8

27.4

5.2

7.

20.8

1.5

45.

41.7

24.9

26.7

12.4

5.2

22.9

19.7

4.7

18.5

15.6

52.7

66.7

48.1

25.5

2.8

:

.1

17.1

79.6

:

7.4

6.9

7.6

2.1

12.7

7.8

4.9

2.

4.5

5.7

:

4.6

5.0

6.

5.1

2.5

2.7

4.5

22.6

6.1

8.0

7.0

7.2

1.

9.2

11.5

10.4

1.7

7.

:

10.0

.

8.7

:

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

2.4

4.8

40.5

8.6

.0

4.8

10.6

9.

24.2

0.7

:

25.6

14.0

10.4

9.1

8.2

5.8

21.1

75.1

9.

14.

16.2

11.1

4.1

18.6

9.6

42.7

2.5

14.0

15.5

6.8

7.6

8.5

14.4

.4

10.1

1.7

12.6

.1

10.5

9.0

10.7

7.6

4.9

7.6

.7

14.

9.

26.5

18.7

15.7

5.1

12.9

14.2

5.2

6.7

15.0

17.0

11.4

9.8

11.

14.0

2.0

14.

5.7

14.0

4.2

14.7

19.5

6.2

.6

5.8

6.4

6.1

16.9

8.8

24.7

20.4

19.

4.9

20.0

17.7

6.2

6.2

1.4

12.4

12.

:

10.5

1.5

7.5

:

:

2.8

:

6.0

:

7.5

:

:

1.9

:

7.8

:

11.6

:

77.8

71.7

70.8

60.1

1.8

44.2

:

:

:

:

:

:

note: Employment	rates	represent	persons	in	employment	as	a	percentage	of	the	
population	aged	15-64	years.	Persons	in	employment	are	those	who	during	the	refer-
ence	week	did	any	work	for	pay	or	profit	for	at	least	one	hour	or	were	not	working	but	
had	jobs	from	which	they	were	temporarily	absent.	Family	workers	are	included.	The	
classification	by	part-time	or	full-time	job	depends	on	a	direct	question	in	the	Labour	
Force	Survey,	except	for	AT	and	NL	where	it	depends	on	a	threshold	on	the	basis	of	
the	number	of	hours	usually	worked.
Sources: Eurostat,	structural	indicators	2005	-		based	upon	the	European	Union	
Labour	Force	Survey

46

2006_3908new.indd   46

17-01-2007   10:34:07

Labour market

Graph 3.2: Average exit age from the labour market by sex, 2004

65

60

55

50

EU
25

Euro
area

BE CZ DK DE EE EL ES FR IE IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT SI SK FI SE UK BG HR MK RO TR LI

IS NO CH

Males

Females

Males and females

Males and females, 2003

Still substantial gap between sexes

In	2005,	employment	rates	for	males	aged	15-64	were	about	15	percentage	
points	higher	than	for	females	(71	%	compared	to	56	%).	The	gap	was	40	and	
44	percentage	points	in	Malta	and	Turkey,	24-28	points	in	Greece,	Spain	and	
Italy	but	less	than	10	points	in	Finland,	Sweden,	Estonia,	Lithuania	Denmark,	
Latvia	and	Slovenia.	The	gap	was	also	low	in	Bulgaria,	Iceland	and	Norway.

Similar	 differences	 were	 observed	 for	 older	 workers.	 In	 the	 EU,	 males	 were	
more	likely	to	be	employed	at	this	age	than	females	(52	%	compared	to	4	%).	
Males	were	leaving	the	labour	market	in	2004	at	the	age	of	60.9	years,	half	a	
year	older	than	females.

EU-wide,	 2	%	 of	 females	 in	 employment	 were	 working	 part-time	 in	 2005	
compared	 to	 only	 7	%	 of	 males.	 Female	 part-time	 work	 was	 particularly	
prevalent	in	the	Netherlands	(75	%),	Germany	(44	%)	and	the	United	Kingdom	
(4	%).	Throughout	the	Union,	women	were	more	likely	to	have	a	fixed-term	
contract,	especially	in	Cyprus	and	Finland,	where	the	gap	was	more	than	5	%.	
In	Spain	the	number	of	fixed-term	contracts	was	highest,	2	%	and	6	%	for	
males	and	females,	respectively.

Further  reading:	 “Employment	 in	 Europe	 2006”,	 European	 Commission.	 “The	 social	
situation	 in	 the	 European	 Union	 2004”,	 European	 Commission.	 Eurostat	 website,	Theme	
Population	and	social	conditions	–	labour	market.

47

2006_3908new.indd   47

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Labour market

Table 3.3: Gender Pay Gap

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

17 s

17 s

16 s

17 s

16 s

16 s

16 s

16 s

15 s

15 s

:

12

:

15

21

27

17

1

1

20

8

29

:

27

19

22

:

2

22

:

5

14

:

:

15

26

:

:

:

:

10

21

15

21

27

15

14

1

21

8

28

:

22

19

2

:

2

20

:

6

15

:

17

17

24

:

:

:

:

10

21

1

21

28

1

14

12

19

7

27

:

2

19

24

:

22

22

:

7

14

:

18

17

21

:

:

:

:

9

25

12

22

26

12

16

12

20

7

26

20

22

18

2

:

21

21

:

6

11

:

19

18

24

:

:

:

:

11

22

14

19

26

1

14

12

22

8

27

20

16

17

21

:

21

21

15

5

14

2

19

17

22

:

:

:

:

1

22

15

21

25

15

15

1

19

6

26

20

16

15

21

11

21

20

:

8

12

22

17

18

21

:

:

:

:

12

20

15

21

24

18

17

14

17

6

26

16

16

16

20

9

19

20

12

10

11

2

17

18

21

2

:

:

:

:

19

18 b

22 b

24

17

:

:

19

18

2

24

11 b

21 b

18

1

12 b

:

6 b

19

17

2

24

10

15

12

:

:

25

16

16

17

16

6

19

:

11

8

9

27

20 b

17

2 b

21

:

:

14 b

11 b

:

25

16

17

15

12r

4

18

17 b

11

9

:

2

20

16

22

18

:

:

7b

25

15

16

14

11

4

19

18

10

5b

:

24

:

17

22

18

:

:

21

24

24

20

17

17

18

17

18

14 b

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

16

:

:

:

:

16

:

:

:

:

17

:

:

:

:

17

:

:

:

:

17

:

:

:

:

16

:

:

:

:

16

:

:

:

:

16

:

note:  The	target	definition	is	“the	difference	between	men’s	and	women’s	average	
gross	hourly	earnings	as	a	percentage	of	men’s	average	gross	hourly	earnings”.	
The	population	consists	of	all	paid	employees	aged	16-64	that	are	“at	work	15+	hours	
per	week”.
Sources: European	Community	Household	Panel	(ECHP),	Statistics	on	Income	and	
Living	Conditions	(EU-SILC),	administrative	data,	Labour	Force	Survey	(LFS)	and	
national	surveys.

48

2006_3908new.indd   48

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Labour market

Graph 3.3: Gender Pay Gap, 2004

EU-25

BE

CZ

DK

DE

EE

EL

ES

FR

IE

IT

CY

LV

LT

LU

HU

MT

NL

AT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

BG

RO

NO

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Women’s earnings remain on average below those of 
men in all EU countries

The	gender	pay	gap¹	in	unadjusted	form	–	difference	in	average	gross	hourly	
earnings	of	men	and	women	as	a	percentage	of	men’s	average	gross	hourly	
earnings	–	varied	between	4	%	and	25	%	in	2004.	Women’s	earnings	remain	
on	average	below	those	of	men	in	all	EU	countries.	The	smallest	differences	
are	 found	 in	 Italy,	 Malta,	 Portugal	 and	 Slovenia,	 the	 biggest	 in	 Estonia,	
Germany,	the	United	Kingdom,	Cyprus	and	the	Slovak	Republic.	At	EU	level	
the	difference	remains	fairly	the	same	since	1994,	the	first	date	for	which	data	
are	available.	In	EU-25	countries,	the	average	gross	hourly	earnings	of	women	
in	2004	is	estimated	at	15	%	less	than	the	gross	hourly	earnings	of	men.

The	 statistics	 show	 that	 development	 over	 time	 varies	 at	 country	 level.	
Differences	 decreased	 in	 Hungary,	 Malta	 and	 the	 Netherlands,	 and	 slightly	
increased	in	Germany.	In	the	remaining	countries	pay	differences	were	fairly	
stable	over	time².

Further reading: ‘The	social	situation	in	the	European	Union	2004’.

¹   Cross-national	and	over-time	comparisons	must	be	done	with	caution,	due	to	the	
multiplicity	of	data	sources	and	due	to	methodological	differences	in	the	national	
estimates,	which	make	the	data	not	fully	comparable	between	countries.
²   Apart	from	changes	that	can	be	attributed	to	breaks	in	the	statistical	series.

49

2006_3908new.indd   49

17-01-2007   10:34:10

Labour market

Table 3.4: Working time

Full-time employees, 2005

average number of 
hours usually worked 
per week

Total males Females

Percentage 
working long 
hours per week
> 48 
> 40 
hours
hours

Percentage of employees 
doing the following types 
of work:

Shift 
work

Evening/
night work

Saturday/
Sunday 
work

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

40

40

9

41

9

40

41

41

41

9

:

9

40

42

9

40

41

41

9

42

41

40

42

41

9

40

4

41

42

:

42

:

46

:

9

41

41

41

40

42

40

41

42

42

42

40

:

41

41

44

40

40

41

42

9

4

4

41

42

41

40

40

44

41

42

:

42

:

49

:

9

41

9

9

8

41

8

9

40

40

40

8

:

7

40

41

9

40

40

9

8

41

40

9

41

40

8

40

40

41

41

:

41

:

42

:

8

40

20

16

11

16

22

14

12

24

20

20

:

15

18

2

4



9

15

2

0

24

14

16

14

11

8

44

1

29

:

18

:

58

:

7

71

9

7

5

9

7

6

5

7

10

10

:

6

6

12

1

2

5

6

1

14

11

6

9

6

5

2

18

4

6

:

6

:

1

:



1

17

15

9

29

5

16

16

19

17

9

12

18

9

22

12

9

19

21

8

18

6

18

2

27

24

24

17

:

2

:

24

:

21

:

24

1

4

29

0

4

4

:

4

47

22



20

21

16

9



21

24

1

41

5

42

19

41

6

46

28

45

:

8

:

1

:

61

:

4

40

4

41

1

4

41

:

8

48



49

2

4

41

48

42

27

4

49

41

41

58

41

58

48

2

26

47

:

65

:

45

:

64

:

41

9

note: The	response	categories	for	working	time	arrangements	are	‘never’,	‘sometimes’	
and	‘usually’.	In	the	above,	“sometimes”	and	“usually”	combined.	‘Usually’	means	working	
on	at	least	half	of	the	working	days	during	the	four	weeks	preceding	the	survey.	An	
employee	is	classified	as	a	shift	worker	if	he/she	usually	works	two	or	more	different	work-
shifts.	Work	shifts	are	defined	as	distinct	periods	of	work	within	a	24-hour	day.	Evening	
and	night	work	are	defined	as	work	done	ouside	the	usual	working	hours	but	respectively	
before	or	during	the	usual	sleeping	hours.	EU	results	are	calculated	on	the	basis	of	the	
available	data.		Data	on	shift	work	and	asocial	hours	for	Spain	are	from	2004.
Source: Eurostat	-	European	Union	Labour	Force	Survey	-	Annual	average,	except	CH	
(spring	survey).

50

2006_3908new.indd   50

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Labour market

Graph 3.4: Percentage of employees working "asocial" hours (at evenings, 
nights or weekends) by gender and frequency, EU-25, 2005 

100

90

80

70

60

%

50

40

30

20

10

0

24.1 %

30.8 %

Males

Sometimes

Usually

17.5 %

29.9 %

Females

Longest working hours in the United Kingdom

In	 2005,	 full-time	 employees	 in	 the	 EU-25	 work	 for	 an	 average	 of	 40	 hours	
per	week,	from	8.8	in	Netherlands	to	42.5	hours	in	the	United	Kingdom,	46.4	
hours	 in	 Iceland.	 In	 all	 Member	 States,	 men	 work	 more	 hours	 than	 women	
although	 in	 Latvia	 and	 Sweden	 the	 difference	 was	 less	 than	 one	 hour.	 In	
contrast,	 the	 gender	 gap	 was	 .9	 hours	 in	 the	 United	 Kingdom	 and	 7.2	 in	
Iceland.

About	20	%	of	full-time	employees	were	working	longer	than	the	average	of	40	
hours	per	week	in	2004.	Around	9	%	worked	at	least	49	hours	per	week,	18	%	
in	the	United	Kingdom	and	1	%	in	Iceland.

4	%	of	EU	employees	had	jobs	which	involved	them	“usually”	or	“sometimes”	
working	at	evenings	or	at	nights	while	4	%	worked	on	Saturdays	or	Sundays.	
Combining	 these	 data,	 55	%	 of	 male	 employees	 and	 47	%	 of	 females	 were	
working	usually	or	sometimes	“asocial”	hours.

Further  reading:	 “Employment	 in	 Europe	 2006”,	 European	 Commission.	 “The	 social	
situation	 in	 the	 European	 Union	 2004”,	 European	 Commission.	 Eurostat	 website,	Theme	
Population	and	social	conditions	–	labour	market.

51

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Labour market

Table 3.5: Unemployment

Unemployment 
(1 000)

Unemployment rates

Unemployment 
rates by sex (2005)

2000

2005

2000

2004

2005

males

Females

EU-25

18	025.4 19	116.8

Euro area 11	470.6 12	628.1

8.6

8.2

6.9

8.7

4.

7.2

	01.9

	90.4

	444.6

	410.2

	122.5

	19.7

2	921.9

	892.7

	84.0

	52.2

12.8

	522.2

	477.

11.

1	979.6

1	912.5

11.1

2	85.2

2	709.4

	75.

	88.8

9.1

4.

2	88.2

1	888.6

10.1

	15.2

	19.4

4.9

	150.

	101.0

1.7

	276.6

	1.0

16.4

	4.

	9.1

	262.5

	01.7

	10.4

	11.6

	229.9

	402.1

	18.4

	210.

2.

6.4

6.7

2.8

.6

9.1

8.9

8.4

8.

5.5

9.5

9.7

10.5

10.7

9.6

4.5

8.0

4.6

10.4

11.4

5.1

6.1

7.

4.6

4.8

8.8

8.6

8.4

7.9

4.8

9.5

7.9

9.8

9.2

9.7

4.

7.7

5.

8.9

8.

4.5

7.2

7.

4.7

5.2

7.9

7.4

7.6

6.5

4.4

8.9

8.8

6.1

7.0

8.8

4.6

6.2

4.

9.1

8.2

.5

7.0

6.5

4.4

4.9

2	788.

	045.4

16.1

19.0

17.7

16.6

	209.6

	420.9

	65.0

	66.0

4.0

6.7

6.7

6.

7.6

6.5

6.7

6.1

	485.2

	40.0

18.8

18.2

16.

15.5

8.4

7.8

4.7

8.2

7.9

5.1

10.1

10.

	25.1

	219.7

	25.2

:

1	541.2

1	406.4

9.8

5.6

5.4

	560.8

	4.1

16.4

:

:

:

:

	791.5

	780.5

1	496.

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

6.8

6.5

:

:

	80.6

	110.6

.4

:

:

:

8.8

6.

4.7

12.0

1.6

:

7.6

:

:

7.7

10.

10.

:

:

4.4

:

:

:

4.6

:

:

:

8.0

10.4

:

:

4.8

:

9.9

10.1

9.5

9.8

5.

10.

7.1

15.

12.2

10.8

4.0

10.1

6.5

8.7

8.

5.9

7.4

9.0

5.1

5.5

19.1

8.7

7.0

17.2

8.6

7.7

4.

9.8

:

:

7.5

10.2

:

:

4.4

:

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

note: Unemployed	people	-	according	to	the	International	Labour	Organisation	(ILO)	
criteria	are	those	persons	aged	15	to	74	who	were	without	work	during	the	reference	
week,	were	currently	available	for	work	and	were	actively	seeking	work	or	who	found	a	
job	to	start	later.	Unemployment	rates	represent	unemployed	persons	as	a	percentage	of	
the	active	population	of	the	same	age.	The	active	population	(or	labour	force)	is	defined	
as	the	sum	of	employed	and	unemployed	persons.
Source: Eurostat	-	Harmonised	unemployment	rates,	based	on	the	European	Union	
Labour	Force	Survey.

52

2006_3908new.indd   52

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Labour market

Graph 3.5: Trend in the unemployment rate 
by sex, 2000-2005

10.5

10.0

%

9.5

9.0

8.5

8.0

7.5

7.0

10.2 %

10.2 %

10.3 %

10.0 %

9.8 %

9.9 %

Females

9.0 %

9.1 %

8.6 %

8.4 %

8.8 %

8.8 %

Total

8.1 %

8.1 %

7.9 %

Males

7.4 %

7.8 %

2000

7.3 %

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Unemployment declined in 2005 after having risen since 
2001

In	2005,	8.8	%	of	the	EU-25	labour	force	was	unemployed,	almost	the	same	
percentage	 as	 in	 2000	 but	 somewhat	 lower	 than	 in	 2004.	This	 amounted	 to	
1	 million	 more	 people	 than	 in	 2000.	 In	 the	 meantime	 unemployment	 went	
down	until	it	reached	a	low	of	8.4	%	in	2001	when	it	started	to	rise	again	until	
2004.	The	 unemployment	 rates	 fell	 in	 all	 Member	 States	 between	 2004	 and	
2005	except	in	France,	Cyprus,	Hungary,	Netherlands,	Austria,	Portugal	and	
Slovenia.

The	 2005	 unemployment	 rates	 ranged	 from	 17.7	%	 in	 Poland	 to	 4.5	%	 in	
Luxembourg	 and	 4.	%	 in	 Ireland.	 The	 rates	 were	 also	 relatively	 low	 in	 the	
Netherlands,	United	Kingdom,	Denmark,	Austria	and	Cyprus	(less	than	6	%).	
Estonian,	 Irish,	 Latvian,	 Swedish	 and	 British	 men	 were	 more	 likely	 to	 be	
unemployed	than	women.

Further reading:	“Employment	in	Europe	2006”,	European	Commission.	“The	social	
situation	in	the	European	Union	2004”,	European	Commission.	Eurostat	website,	Theme	
Population	and	social	conditions	–	labour	market.

5

2006_3908new.indd   53

17-01-2007   10:34:12

Labour market

Table 3.6: youth unemployment

number of 
unemployed 
persons aged  
15-24 (1 000)

youth unemployment 
rates (%)

youth 
unemployment rates 
by sex (%), 2005

2000

2005

2000

2004

2005

males

Females

EU-25

4	825.2 4	9.1

	17.4

Euro area 2	947.7 	08.5

	16.4

	72.6

	95.2

	16.7

	119.2

	88.7

	17.8

	26.4

	4.8

	6.2

	641.

	86.0

	10.6

	17.1

	11.2

	2.9

	164.9

	107.6

	29.2

	615.0

	490.5

	24.

	522.9

	676.5

	20.1

	2.8

	29.2

	6.9

	720.8

	489.7

	27.0

	.7

	27.8

	57.1

	1.2

	5.2

	10.1

	18.

	21.4

	20.7

	0.6

	2.1

	7.2

	70.8

	66.6

	12.5

	4.8

	5.5

	1.7

	76.7

	11.0

	26.8

	61.2

	5.7

	5.

	77.

	774.6

	5.1

	59.2

	18.7

	90.4

	8.8

	17.2

	16.

	15.4

	96.

	6.9

	71.4

	55.7

	64.4

	21.4

:

	10.5

	51.5

	581.7

	12.2

	117.6

	65.

	.7

:

:

:

:

:

:

	247.

	268.6

	17.2

	705.5

:

:

:

:

:

	1.0

:

:

	18.9

	18.0

	21.2

	21.0

	8.2

	15.1

	21.7

	26.9

	2.4

	21.9

	8.9

	2.5

	10.5

	18.1

	22.7

	16.5

	15.5

	16.

	8.0

	9.6

	9.6

	15.4

	16.1

	.1

	20.7

	16.

	12.1

	25.8

:

:

	2.2

	19.6

:

:

	18.6

	17.8

	21.5

	19.2

	8.6

	15.0

	15.9

	26.0

	19.7

	2.0

	8.6

	24.0

	1.2

	1.6

	15.7

	1.8

	19.4

	16.4

	8.2

	10.5

	6.9

	16.0

	15.9

	0.1

	20.1

	22.6

	12.9

	22.4

:

:

	18.

	16.9

	21.0

	19.

	8.6

	15.6

	16.6

	18.7

	16.7

	21.5

	9.1

	21.5

	12.2

	11.8

	16.0

	11.8

	19.6

	16.7

	8.0

	10.6

	5.7

	1.6

	14.5

	1.0

	20.6

	2.0

	14.5

	2.

:

:

	19.0

	18.9

	22.1

	19.1

	8.6

	14.

	14.9

	4.8

	2.5

	25.0

	7.9

	27.4

	14.

	16.2

	15.

	16.4

	19.0

	16.1

	8.4

	10.4

	8.

	19.1

	17.8

	28.8

	19.5

	22.1

	11.1

	21.1

:

:

	2.8

	24.2

	2.

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

	.

	7.9

	9.9

	11.4

	11.6

	12.1

	11.0

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

note: Unemployment	is	defined	according	to	the	ILO	definition.	See	‘Unemployment’	for	
definition.	Youth	unemployment	rates	represent	unemployed	persons	aged	15-24	as	a	
percentage	of	the	active	population	(or	labour	force)	of	the	same	age.
Source: Eurostat	-	Harmonised	unemployment	rates,	based	on	the	European	Union	
Labour	Force	Survey.

54

2006_3908new.indd   54

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Labour market

Graph 3.6: Youth unemployment rates (15-24 years) by sex, 2005

40

30

20

10

0

EU
25

Males

Females

BE CZ DK DE EE EL ES FR IE IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT SI SK FI SE UK BG HR MK RO TR

IS NO CH

18.6 % of young people unemployed across the EU-25

The	2005	youth	unemployment	rate	increased	by	1.2	percentage	points	from	
2000,	from	17.4	%	to	18.6	%,	after	having	reached	a	high	in	2004	of	18.9	%.	In	
eighteen	countries	youth	unemployment	rose	in	this	period,	most	in	Portugal,	
Hungary	 and	 Luxembourg	 (7.2,	 6.9	 and	 6.6	 percentage	 points	 respectively)	
and	 Romania	 (6.6	 percentage	 point	 since	 2000),	 while	 in	 ten	 others	 youth	
unemployment	declined	in	between	2000-2005,	most	in	Lithuania	and	Bulgaria	
(-14.9	and	11.	percentage	points).

In	 2005,	 youth	 unemployment	 was	 highest	 in	 Poland,	 6.9	%	 with	 Slovakia	
and	Greece	coming	second	and	third	(0.1	%	and	26.0	%).	In	the	Netherlands,	
Ireland	and	Denmark	youth	unemployment	rates	were	less	than	10	%.

Young	females	(19.0	%)	were	still	more	likely	than	young	males	(18.	%)	to	be	
unemployed	in	2005,	although	the	gap	was	not	as	large	as	it	was	compared	
both	to	the	situation	of	young	people	in	2000	and	to	the	population	aged	25	
and	over	in	2005.

Further  reading:	 “Employment	 in	 Europe	 2006”,	 European	 Commission.	 “The	 social	
situation	 in	 the	 European	 Union	 2004”,	 European	 Commission.	 Eurostat	 website,	Theme	
Population	and	social	conditions	–	labour	market.

55

2006_3908new.indd   55

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Labour market

Table 3.7: Unemployment rate (%) and education, 2005

males and females

males

Females

Less than 
upper 
secondary

Upper 
secondary

Tertiary

Less than 
upper 
secondary

Tertiary

Less than 
upper 
secondary

Tertiary

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

12.1

11.7

1.9	

26.7

7.4	

19.2	

14.5 u

8.8			

11.0			

1.2			

7.0			

9.1			

6.0			

15.1			

14.5 u

6.4			

14.			

9.6			

7.			

10.2			

26.9			

7.8			

9.			

5.2			

14.			

14.0			

8.0			

19.4			

11.2			

:			

6.7			

:			

.8			

:			

10.5			

8.1			

9.	

8.8	

8.5	

7.2	

4.5	

11.1	

9.2	

11.8			

8.8			

8.2			

4.0			

7.0			

5.5			

9.1			

9.			

.8			

6.9			

4.			

4.4			

19.1			

8.0			

6.9			

14.4			

8.8			

7.1			

4.5			

9.2			

5.	

5.7

4.4

2.

.7

5.5

11.1	

10.	

11.9

0.0

7.

20.9

4.5

5.0

4.

2.1

.5

5.2

1.5

1.9

17.1

24.4

7.5

17.2

5.6			

6.5			

4.6			

2.7			

.8			

6.0

4.0 u

:	 u

:	 u

:	 u

:	 u

7.8			

6.8			

6.4			

2.5			

6.0			

4.4			

4.2			

5.9			

8.			

12.5			

7.1			

7.			

5.2			

4.6			

5.			

6.2			

2.5			

4.4			

.			

14.1			

16.0			

1.9			

6.6			

12.8			

7.2			

14.5			

:	 u

16.4			

4.0 u

14.8 u

4.2 u

14.1 u

.5			

2.7			

2.9			

2.7			

7.1			

6.			

5.			

15.6			

8.7			

6.4			

10.6			

26.6			

6.8			

.0 u

7.7			

2.			

12.9			

:	 u

12.1			

.0			

2.5			

6.0			

5.6			

8.4			

9.8			

27.2			

9.0			

11.6			

8.			

6.6			

2.5			

7.7			

5.6			

4.2 u

.9 u

4.2 u

.0			

:	 u

2.8			

.1			

8.0			

6.8			

.2 u

9.9 u

.2 u

8.7 u

.2 u

5.1			

4.4			

4.8			

2.5			

4.			

58.4			

1.2			

12.6			

9.5			

18.8			

4.5			

.9			

5.1			

2.8			

4.4			

48.4			

15.9			

16.0			

6.5			

20.			

5.7			

4.8			

4.5			

2.			

4.2			

:	 u

:	 u

14.9			

6. u

11.7 u

6.1 u

10.9			

6.5 u

:			

8.0			

:			

.9			

:			

:	 u

:			

:			

:	 u

:			

4.2			

4.2			

2.6			

2.8			

:			

8.4			

:			

4.7			

:			

10.9			

7.1			

:			

.5			

:			

:	 u

:			

2.7			

2.			

:			

4.9			

:			

2.9			

:			

9.9			

9.1			

:			

4.2			

:			

:	 u

:			

2.5			

.9			

note: The	three	levels	of	education	are	defined	according	to	ISCED	(International	
Standard	Classification	of	Education).	In	the	UK,	GCSE	‘O’	levels	are	included	under	
ISCED		(educational	attainment	level	“upper	secondary”).
Source: Eurostat	-	European	Union	Labour	Force	Survey	-	Annual	average,	except	
CH	(spring	survey).

56

2006_3908new.indd   56

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Labour market

Graph 3.7: Unemployment rates of the population aged 25-64 
by sex and level of education, EU-25, 2005 

12.1 %

Males

Females

9.3 %

9.2 %

7.4 %

5.0 %

4.2 %

%

15

10

5

0

Less than upper secondary level

Upper secondary level

Tertiary education

Qualifications still tend to reduce the risk of 
unemployment

Higher	 education	 qualifications	 seem	 to	 reduce,	 albeit	 to	 differing	 degrees,	
the	risk	of	unemployment	in	all	Member	States.	In	EU-25,	the	unemployment	
rate	of	persons	with	a	tertiary	education	qualification	stood	at	5.1	%	in	2005	
compared	with	9.	%	for	persons	who	had	completed	at	most	upper	secondary	
education	and	12.1	%	among	those	who	had	not	completed	upper	secondary	
education.

The	 largest	 differences	 between	 ‘tertiary’	 and	 ‘less	 than	 upper	 secondary’	
education	were	found	in	Slovakia,	with	the	Czech	Republic	coming	a	distant	
second	 (48.1	 and	 24.4	 percentage	 points	 respectively).	 In	 Greece	 and	
Portugal	 the	 corresponding	 difference	 was	 1.6	 and	 1.5	 percentage	 points	
respectively.

The	 gaps	 between	 ‘tertiary’	 and	 ‘less	 than	 upper	 secondary’	 education	 are	
larger	for	females	in	15	out	of	the	25	countries	of	the	Union	with	the	gender	
differences	on	aggregate	level	relatively	small,	6.6	percentage	points	for	men	
and	 7.9	 percentage	 points	 for	 women.	 Women	 are	 also	 more	 likely	 to	 be	
unemployed	than	men	in	all	education	categories.

Further reading:	Eurostat.	“Key	data	on	education	in	Europe	2005”,	European	Commis-
sion.	“The	social	situation	in	the	European	Union	2004”,	European	Commission.	Eurostat	
website,	Theme	Population	and	social	conditions	–	labour	market.

57

2006_3908new.indd   57

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Labour market

Table 3.8: Industrial disputes

Workers involved per 1 000 
workers

Working days lost per 1 000 
workers

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

EU-25

Euro area

25.7

20.0

45.99

22.60

14.29

50.7

5.42

57.05

59.5

52.01

.5

26.89

56.26

29.02

16.92

6.88

45.61

67.94

7.1

64.75

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

.8

14.89

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

7.50

41.22

17.61

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

29.1

20.98

42.65

17.26

29.8

48.5

22.92

74.49

21.4

29.65

0.21

0.00

:

1.82

12.29

1.17

2.60

0.00

:

:

:

25.21

:

:

:

0.0

0.00

:

0.80

0.00

:

8.90

4.80

1.0

:

:

20.90

:

:

:

1.2

77.08 272.65

42.15

0.9 2.26 119.15 297.5

45.80 248.88

7.09

19.09

11.72

54.05

: 102.

74.42

4.6 19.9

:

20.41

22.46

2.4

2.9

6.64

70.27

80.04

14.55

25.09

1.49

9.57

60.80

49.52

49.87

8.72

51.72

57.41

48.59

44.97

8.1

0.7

6.56

14.92

15.11

26.62 4.65	p

18.46

0.10

29.00

7.20

:

.24

0.65

9.92

:

1.69

0.00

7.70

:

0.00

0.00

1.66

:

:

0.00

0.00

0.00

10.20

:

:

5.10

.57

2.24

55.10

0.01

2.16

0.00

2.80

4.24

0.00

0.00

0.50

0.00

0.00

:

0.00

0.00

:

0.80

6.80

5.6

11.29

4.56

12.94

.48

2.00

19.00

5.00

22.00

11.00

1.10

5.94

0.85

4.98

0.00

0.14

4.08

1.44

1.96

2.98

0.00

0.46

:

0.01

0.02

1.00

0.90

8.00

6.00

5.00

2.00

0.00

0.4

2.90 95.6

0.01

1.00

:

0.05

0.04

17.91

10.97

2.57

12.

12.5

18.70

17.50

4.90

21.70

18.10

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

0.00

0.00

0.00

9.88

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

6.44

9.17

29.0

8.89

10.71 110.00

25.60

1.00

28.00

18.00

0.04

7.5

:

:

:

2.8

0.17

19.48

0.60

0.07

2.69

0.20 151.76

.72

6.85

6.4

5.7

11.00

20.00

20.00

51.00

19.00

4.00

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

5.40

0.

7.71

5.97

2.92 122.0

0.20

7.50

2.60

4.55

:

:

12.2

6.01

0.00

44.02

0.98

0.00

0.01

4.80

:

0.00

0.00

4.60

5.22

0.00

0.04

1.98

:

:

:

:

0.00

27.28 8.80

0.00

0.00

0.00

:

0.00

0.00

:

:

0.00 900.1

0.00

0.00

4.64 22.80

0.29

70.2

0.45

66.41

5.8

1.20

4.80

5.10

1.50

9.0

notes:  1)	EU	25	and	Euro	Area	are	estimated	on	the	basis	of	the	available	country	
data	(EL,	LV,	CZ	and	SI	are	not	included).		2)	France	-	estimates,	Cyprus	2000-2001	
provisional	data,	Luxembourg	2000-2002	provisional	data.
Source: Eurostat	-	Labour	Market	statistics	-	Strikes	and	Lockouts	statistics

58

2006_3908new.indd   58

17-01-2007   10:34:16

Labour market

Graph 3.8: Workers involved in strikes and lockouts 
(per 1 000 workers), 2004, by economic activity 

y
r
t
n
u
o
C

IT

ES

DK

IS

CY

PT

UK

FI

IE

CH

NO

MT

RO

DE

HU

SE

PL

AT

LI

SK

LT

0

5

10

15

20
Workers involved per 1 000 workers

25

30

35

40

45

Industry

Construction

Trade, transport and communication services

Business activities and financial services

Other sections

Notes:  1) Five economic activities are distinguished on the basis of a aggregation of NACE Rev.1.1 sections: C, D, 
E - Industry;  F - Construction; G, H, I - Trade, transport and communication services
including hotels and restaurants; J, K - Business activities and financial services  including real estate and renting 
activities; A-B, L-Q, Not classified - Other sections
2) No data available for BE, EE, FR, LV, LU and NL. For IS, the category "Other sections" covers the total of 
economic activities - no breakdown available.
3) In 2004, no workers have been registered involved in strikes and lockouts in LI, SK and LT.

Strikes and Lockouts

The	statistics	on	strikes	and	lockouts	are	characterised	by	a	strong	volatility	
since	 they	 highly	 depend	 on	 a	 specific	 political	 and	 economic	 context.	 In	
2004,	in	the	European	Union	approximately	14	workers	were	involved	and	52	
days	 were	 lost	 per	 thousand	 workers.	 For	 the	 Euro	Area,	 the	 corresponding	
numbers	were	17	and	65.

The	EU	countries	that	registered	the	highest	number	of	workers	involved	per	
1	000	workers	were	Italy	(8.7),	Spain	(0.9)	and	Denmark	(29.4).	The	highest	
number	 of	 days	 lost	 per	 1	000	 workers	 was	 recorded	 in	 the	 following	 EU	
countries	-	Spain	(248.9),	Italy	(8.1)	and	Cyprus	(7.2).	No	significant	strikes	
or	lockouts	were	registered	in	Lithuania	and	Slovakia.	A	marginal	number	of	
industrial	disputes	took	place	in	Austria	and	Poland.

In	2004,	the	significant	share	of	workers	involved	in	strikes	and	lockouts	(per	
thousand	 workers)	 were	 employed	 in	 the	 industry	 (in	 particular	 in	 Germany,	
Cyprus	and	Finland).	Trade,	transport	and	communication	services	recorded	
high	numbers	of	workers	involved	in	Ireland,	Malta	and	Portugal.	A	relatively	
small	share	of	workers	participated	in	industrial	disputes	in	business	activities	
and	financial	services,	except	in	Portugal.	

Among	the	non-EU	countries	participating	in	the	data	collection,	a	high	number	
of	days	lost	per	1	000	workers	was	registered	in	Iceland	(900.)	and	Norway	
(66.4).	No	significant	strikes	or	lockouts	were	registered	in	Liechtenstein.

Further reading: Metadata	information	to	be	found	in	the	Eurostat	database:	Population	
and	social	conditions	–	Labour	Market	–	Industrial	Disputes

59

2006_3908new.indd   59

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Labour market

Table 3.9: Job vacancies

number of job vacancies

Job vacancy rate

2006-Q2 2006-Q1

2005-Q4 2005-Q3 2006-Q2 2006-Q1 2005-Q4 2005-Q3

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

77	1

61	205

49	494

51	98

:

:

:

:

: 1	112	700

:

:

16	764

16	198

12	95

14	05

:

74	888r

15	985r

	166

95	572

90	27

98	56

97	800

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

2	81

	460

17	89p 17	10r

1	17

12	765

17	214

15	19

11	797

1	792

1	417

1	24

:

:

:

:

:

:

7	568

1	188

:

:

210		000 185	400

156	900 152	800

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

14	82

1.9p

2.0p

:

1.9			

:

.0p

2.9			

:

0.7

0.6p

:

:

:

1.8p

1.4

0.6p

1.2p

:

.0p

:

1.0			

.

1.8p

1.8p

:

1.5			

:

2.7p

2.8			

2.6r

0.7

0.6

:

:

:

1.8r

1.2

0.5

1.4p

:

2.6r

:

0.9

:

1.8p

1.9p

:

1.2			

:

.2p

2.4			

0.6r

0.8

0.5

:

:

1.2

1.4

1.0

0.4

1.6p

1.5p

:

1.p

:

:

2.6			

1.2

0.8

0.5

:

:

1.7

1.4

0.6

0.4

1.0	p

0.8p

:

2.

:

0.6

:

:

2.2

:

0.7

0.6

9	560p

8	087p

6	710p

8	021p

1.2p

1.0p

0.9p

1.0p

18	45

15	678r

1	206

15	101

54	70

6	121

27	229

4	818

47	554

49	486

45	121

8	187

605	821p 567	295r

600	409 629	28

19	482p 19	901p

20	967p 18	487p

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

1.0

2.7

1.2

2.p

0.8p

:

:

0.8

.1

1.

2.1

0.7

1.

1.2

2.2

0.8

1.7

1.0

2.

1.0p

0.9p

0.9p

:

:

:

:

:

:

76	1

58	679

85	872

80	9

1.8			

1.9			

1.			

1.7			

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

definitions: A	Job	vacancy	is	defined	as	a	post	(newly	created,	unoccupied	or	about	
to	become	vacant)	for	which	the	employer	is	taking	active	steps	to	to	find	a	suitable	
candidate	from	outside	the	enterprise	concerned	and	is	prepared	to	take	more	steps,	
and	which	the	employer	intends	to	fill	immediately	or	in	a	near	future.	The	job	vacancy	
rate	represents	the	proportion	of	posts	that	are	vacant,	expressed	as	a	percentage	as	
follows:	JVR	=	number	or	job	vacancies	/	(number	of	occupied	posts	+	number	of	job	
vacancies)	*	100.
notes: In	France	and	Poland	only	results	for	establishments	with	10	or	more	
employees	are	available.	In	Hungary	only	results	for	establishmetns	with	5	or	more	
employees	are	available.	With	regard	to	the	economic	activity,	Austria	and	United	
Kingdom	results	do	not	include	agriculture,	hunting,	forestry	and	fishing	activities	
(NACE	sections	A	and	B),	and	France,	Portugal	and	Spain	results	do	not	include	
agriculture,	hunting,	forestry,	fishing	and	public	administration	and	defense	(NACE	
sections	A,	B	and	L).
Source: Eurostat	-	Job	vacancies	statistics

60

2006_3908new.indd   60

17-01-2007   10:34:18

Labour market

Graph 3.9: EU Job vacancy rate (provisional)

1.9 %

1.8 %

1.8 %

1.8 %

2.0 %

1.9 %

%

2.1

2.0

1.9

1.8

1.7

1.6

1.5

1.4

1.6 %

1.5 %

2005-Q3

2005-Q4

2006-Q1

2006-Q2

EU-25

Euro area

Job vacancies, an important tool in labour market 
policies

Job	vacancies	are	used	by	the	Commission	(Directorate-General	Employment,	
Social	 Affairs	 and	 Equal	 Opportunities)	 and	 the	 European	 Central	 Bank	
to	 analyse	 and	 monitor	 the	 evolution	 of	 the	 labour	 market	 at	 national	 and	
European	level.

Quarterly	 job	 vacancy	 statistics	 are	 compiled	 on	 the	 basis	 of	 data	 provided	
in	 a	 voluntary	 basis	 by	 the	 participating	 countries.	 At	 the	 request	 of	 some	
countries,	certain	data	are	not	published	at	national	level	and	are	used	only	
for	the	calculation	of	statistics	at	an	EU	level.	

In	 the	 second	 quarter	 of	 2006,	 the	 provisional	 EU-25	 job	 vacancy	 rate	 was	
1.9	%,	 which	 is	 0.1	 percentage	 points	 higher	 than	 for	 the	 previous	 quarter.	
The	corresponding	result	for	the	Euro	area	was	2.0	%,	up	by	0.2	percentage	
points	compared	to	the	first	quarter	of	2006.	Please	note	that	these	figures	are	
not	seasonally	adjusted.

Further information:	Eurostat	free	data	–	Population	and	social	conditions	-	Labour	market	
–	job	vacancy	statistics.

61

2006_3908new.indd   61

17-01-2007   10:34:19

Labour market

Table 3.10: Public expenditure on LmP as a percentage of 
GdP, by category, 2004

1 -  
Services

2 -  
Training

3 -  
Job 
rotation 
and job 
sharing

4 -  
Employ-
ment 
incentives

5 -  
Integration 
of the 
disabled

6 -  
direct job 
creation

7 -  
Start-up 
incentives

8 -  
out-of-work 
income 
main-
tenance 
and 
support

9 -  
Early 
retirement

0.21

0.25 0.002

0.12

0.11

0.10

0.04

1.4

0.08

:

0.20

0.02

0.54

:

-

-

-

0.6 0.001

0.0

0.0

-

-

0.12 0.008

0.1

0.18

-

-

0.2 0.002

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

:

0.2

0.12

0.17

0.29

0.02

0.02

0.05

0.25

0.20

0.04

:

:

:

0.2

0.17

0.00

0.12

:

0.08

0.16

0.20

0.6

0.07

:

:

:

:

:

:

0.04

0.06

-

:

0.10

0.05

:

:

:

0.6

0.28

0.0

0.29

:

0.01

0.1

0.06

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

-

-

-

:

0

0

-

0

:

-

-

-

:

:

:

:

:

:

0

:

0.41 0.051

0.5 0.006

:

0.15

0.05

0.46

0.08

0.01

0.04

0.24

0.10

0.07

0.25

:

:

0.04

0.10

0.09

:

0.0

0.06

0.09

0.17

:

0.01

0.12

0.19

0.00

0.02

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

0.11

0.0

0.52

0.15

-

0.0

0.07

0.09

0.04

0.01

:

:

0.00

0.05

0.01

:

0.56

0.05

-

0.05

:

0.00

0.10

0.4

0.02

0.01

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

0.46

0.0

0.00

0.1

0.00

-

0.08

0.2

0.20

0.01

:

:

0.05

0.0

0.05

:

0.18

0.04

0.0

0.04

:

0.04

0.09

-

0.00

0.7

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

0.00

0.01

-

0.1

0.00

0.06

0.0

0.00

-

0.05

:

:

0

0

0.01

:

-

0.00

0.01

0.00

:

0.02

0.02

0.0

0

0.01

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

1.97

0.26

1.95

2.27

0.18

0.45

1.47

1.64

0.8

0.66

:

:

0.07

0.47

0.7

:

2.2

1.10

0.79

:

0.4

-

0.72

0.04

-

-

0.0

0.08

0.06

0.10

:

:

0.04

0.22

0.01

:

-

0.0

-

1.11

0.21

:

0.1

1.59

1.2

0.29

0.27

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

0.01

0.48

-

-

-

:

:

:

:

:

:

-

:

0.1

0.09

:

:

0.0

0.54

0.00

0.00

0.86

:

:

:

:

:

notes: 1)	EU-25	Eurostat	estimate.	2)	PL:	OECD	data
Source: Eurostat	-	Labour	market	policy	database.

62

2006_3908new.indd   62

17-01-2007   10:34:20

Labour market

Graph 3.10: Public expenditure on LMP as a percentage 
of GDP, by category, 2004

LMP Services (category 1)

LMP Measures (categories 2-7)

LMP Supports (categories 8-9)

* EU-25:  Eurostat estimations. 
** PL:  OECD data.

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.0

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

EE

LT

SK

CZ

EL

LU

HU

UK

BG

PL**

IT

IE

NO

PT

AT

ES

EU-25 *

EU-15

SE

FR

FI

DE

BE

NL

DK

Expenditure on Labour market Policy

LMP	 expenditure	 includes	 the	 costs	 of	 services	 for	 jobseekers	 provided	 by	
the	public	employment	services	(category	1),	the	cost	of	‘active’	interventions	
such	as	training	and	employment	incentives	to	help	the	unemployed	and	other	
target	groups	(categories	2-7)	as	well	as	‘passive’	supports		(categories	8-9),	
which	mostly	refer	to	unemployment	benefits.

In	 2004,	 public	 expenditure	 on	 Labour	 Market	 Policies	 (LMP)	 in	 the	 EU-25	
was	 2.	%	 of	 GDP,	 but	 there	 were	 considerable	 variations	 in	 the	 level	 of	
expenditure	 between	 countries.	 In	 Denmark,	 LMP	 expenditure	 amounted	 to	
almost	 4.4	%	 of	 GDP	 and	 the	 Netherlands,	 Belgium,	 Germany	 and	 Finland	
also	spent	more	than		%	of	GDP.

Across	 the	 Union,	 expenditure	 on	 labour	 market	 services	 accounted	 for	
less	 than	 10	%	 of	 total	 LMP	 expenditure	 and,	 apart	 from	 the	 UK	 where	 it	
represented	44	%	of	total	expenditure	(0.4	%	of	GDP),	it	is	only	in	the	Czech	
Republic	where	the	share	exceeds	20	%.

Total	 expenditure	 on	 LMP	 measures	 (categories	 2-7)	 accounted	 for	 more	
than	 1.5	%	 of	 GDP	 in	 Denmark,	 and	 1	%	 of	 GDP	 in	 the	 Netherlands	 and	
Sweden.	 In	 contrast,	 in	 the	 Slovak	 Republic	 and	 Estonia,	 expenditure	 on	
active	interventions	amounted	to	less	than	0.1	%	of	GDP	compared	with	0.6	%	
in	 EU-25.	Among	 active	 interventions,	 training	 receives	 the	 highest	 share	 of	
expenditure	in	EU-25	(40	%	of	total	expenditure	in	active	measures	with	0.	%	
of	 GDP).	 It	 is	 followed	 by	 employment	 incentives	 (which	 includes	 not	 only	
subsidies	 but	 also	 reduction	 in	 taxes	 and	 social	 contributions	 to	 employers)	
and	 integration	 of	 disabled	 (both	 categories	 with	 about	 18	%	 of	 active	
expenditure).	 Whilst	 measures	 offering	 start-up	 incentives	 or	 job	 rotation/	
sharing	opportunities	together	accounted	for	only	7	%	of	expenditure.

In	 2004,	 public	 expenditure	 on	 LMP	 supports	 (categories	 8-9)	 accounted	
for	 the	 largest	 share	 of	 total	 LMP	 expenditure	 in	 every	 country	 except	 the	
UK,	 Lithuania	 and	 Bulgaria,	 and	 for	 just	 over	 1.4	%	 of	 GDP	 (6	%	 of	 total	
expenditure)	in	the	EU-25	as	a	whole.	In	five	countries	-	Denmark,	Belgium,	
Germany,	 the	 Netherlands	 and	 Finland	 –	 expenditure	 on	 LMP	 supports	
accounted	 for	 more	 than	 2	%	 of	 GDP,	 whilst	 in	 Estonia	 and	 Lithuania	 it	
accounted	less	than	0.2	%	of	GDP.

6

2006_3908new.indd   63

17-01-2007   10:34:21

Labour market

Table 3.11: annual average gross earnings of full-time 
workers(€), 2002

Total

Industry 
(excl. Con- 
struction)

Con- 
struction

Services 
(excl. 
public 
admin.)

of which:

distributive 
trades

Hotels and 
restaurants

Financial 
inter- 
mediation

EU-25

Euro area

28	024

27	540

24	58

28	881

24	701

19	644

44	51

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

0	694

1	29

22	865

1	78

28	898

18	175

4	98

7	212

6	845

6	962

7	680

6	527

7	550

12	427

41	76

41	548

41	54

41	884

6	91

2	08

49	08

4	622

6	961

29	45

	211

0	24

20	864

45	60

4	94

4	747

4	667

5	101

4	506

	018

11	20

18	751

19	611

18	267

18	26

15	05

14	49

27	21

21	06

22	245

17	721

21	194

18	741

14	819

7	776

29	19

29	597

24	812

29	47

25	50

20	476

42	589

2	912

	75

7	509

1	898

26	48

2	76

40	897

25	808

24	742

22	298

27	54

24	20

20	250

42	451

22	16

19	82

20	989

2	681

16	24

15	800

27	45

	616

4	097

	692

4	062

	115

	706

	641

4	209

2	585

	750

2	224

2	681

8	571

8	25

8	10

6	472

29	562

9	918

29	851

2	578

61	012

5	906

5	867

4	502

6	165

4	910

4	229

11	621

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

	68

4	588

2	487

	541

28	427

28	190

46	598

2	44

4	176

29	584

1	941

27	20

20	60

45	785

7	065

6	987

6	20

7	290

6	16

1	609

11	624

11	8

15	911

12	950

11	275

10	846

5	708

5	422

9	819

4	792

12	102

10	518

6	022

6	660

5	422

9	259

8	686

	782

11	270

26	910

19	914

11	8

0	965

1	5

28	757

0	96

29	49

26	92

5	516

2	056

0	864

29	45

	248

	160

26	898

41	00

8	58

8	677

8	61

8	477

29	946

22	760

59	495

1	884

1	904

1	582

1	914

1	296

1	252

4	047

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

2	21

2	217

1	926

2	647

1	95

1	67

6	14

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

40	095

:

:

:

:

:

	70

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

42	475

44	820

41	577

41	676

7	890

0	170

51	209

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

notes: Annual	earnings	are	defined	as	total	gross	earnings	paid	during	the	reference	
year	including	overtime	and	regular	cash	supplements	as	well	as	vacation	payments	
typically	paid	to	employees.	Apart	from	regularly	paid	bonuses,	all	bonuses	and	
payments	which	are	not	paid	regularly	are	included	(1th	or	14th	month	payments,	
holiday	bonuses,	profit	sharing,	allowances	for	leave	not	taken,	etc).	The	following	are	
not	be	included:	payments	in	kind,	severance	payments	and	profitsharing	schemes	
that	take	the	form	of	dividend	distributions.	All	data	relate	to	full-time	and	full-year	
equivalents.	The	earnings	data	are	averages	and	usually	refer	to	enterprises	with	at	
least	10	employees.	Some	Member	States	also	included	enterprises	of	sizes	below	this	
threshold.
Source: Eurostat.	Population	and	Social	Conditions	–	Labour	Market	–	Structure	of	
Earnings	Survey

64

2006_3908new.indd   64

17-01-2007   10:34:22

Labour market

Graph 3.11: Annual average gross earnings 
in Industry and Services, 2002

45 000

40 000

35 000

30 000

o
r
u
E

25 000

20 000

15 000

10 000

5 000

0

EU-25

Lithuania
Estonia
Slovakia
Latvia

Poland
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Hungary

Portugal

Greece

Spain
Cyprus

Belgium
France
Italy

Finland
Sweden

United Kingdom
Luxembourg
Ireland
Austria
Netherlands
Germany
Denmark

Bulgaria
Romania
Norway

Highest earnings in the financial intermediation sector

In	the	EU-25	in	2002,	annual	average	earnings	were	27	500	euro	in	industry	
(excluding	construction),	compared	to	24	500	euro	in	construction	and	28	900	
euro	 in	 services	 (excluding	 public	 administration).	 The	 highest	 earnings	 in	
industry	(excluding	construction)	were	recorded	in	Denmark	(41	500	euro)	and	
the	United	Kingdom	(8	700	euro),	and	the	lowest	in	Latvia	(	700	euro)	and	
Lithuania	(4	100	euro).	Among	the	economic	activities,	financial	intermediation	
recorded	the	highest	level	of	earnings,	with	an	EU-25	average	of	44	400	euro,	
ranging	from	8	200	euro	in	Lithuania	to	61	000	euro	in	Luxembourg.	On	the	
other	 hand,	 hotels	 and	 restaurants	 recorded	 the	 lowest	 average	 earnings	 in	
the	EU-25	(19	600	euro).	Among	the	Member	States,	earnings	in	this	sector	
varied	from	2	200	euro	in	Latvia	to	2	000	euro	in	Denmark.	Annual	earnings	
in	the	distributive	trades	sector	averaged	24	700	euro	in	the	EU-25,	ranging	
from	2	600	euro	in	Latvia	to	6	900	euro	in	Denmark.

more  data:	 Eurostat.	 Population	 and	 Social	 Conditions	 –	 Labour	 Market	 –	 Structure	 of	
Earnings	Survey

65

2006_3908new.indd   65

17-01-2007   10:34:22

Labour market

Table 3.12: Earnings of men and women: average gross 
earnings per hour of women as a percentage of men’s, 2002

i

s
e
c
v
r
e
s
d
n
a
y
r
t
s
u
d
n

I

L
a
T
o
T

i

g
n
y
r
r
a
u
q
d
n
a
g
n
n
m

i

i

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

75

:

8

76

80

74

7

75

75

8

74

81

72

79

82

81

85

:

76

74

86

80

89

71

82

85

70

80

80

:

:

:

:

:

8

:

98

78

81

94

51

74

78

90

74

89

47

81

104

10

87

:

8

84

71

94

91

82

91

88

95

78

79

:

:

:

:

:

80

:

82

:

g
n
i
r
u
t
c
a
f
u
n
a
m

70

:

82

71

84

7

76

78

7

85

76

80

61

85

79

81

76

:

85

72

80

66

82

68

84

88

75

7

74

:

:

:

72

:

86

:

n
o
i
t
c
u
r
t
s
n
o
C

90

:

89

9

85

87

81

8

91

99

78

92

91

91

94

98

109

:

9

89

108

106

119

84

87

92

80

10

111

:

:

:

101

:

89

:

y
g
r
e
n
E

78

:

74

80

79

79

80

82

82

82

80

9

79

84

84

89

84

:

71

79

92

94

101

92

74

82

70

86

86

:

:

:

:

:

87

:

s
e
d
a
r
t
e
v
i
t
u
b
i
r
t
s
d

i

74

:

80

69

81

74

67

78

74

82

70

85

59

76

78

75

92

:

76

72

75

78

86

71

76

81

66

90

7

:

:

:

70

:

78

:

-
u
a
t
s
e
r
d
n
a
s
e
t
o
H

l

s
t
n
a
r

n
o
i
t
a
c
-
i
n
u
m
m
o
c
d
n
a

e
g
a
r
o
t
s

,
t
r
o
p
s
n
a
r
T

-
r
e
t
n

i

n
o
i
t
a
d
e
m

i

l

i

a
c
n
a
n
F

i

g
n
i
t
n
e
r

,

e
t
a
t
s
e

l

a
e
r

i

s
s
e
n
s
u
b
d
n
a

s
e
i
t
i
v
i
t
c
a

81

:

9

54

94

79

74

84

82

88

8

87

74

74

87

8

84

:

77

88

70

79

87

75

90

89

79

99

81

:

:

:

:

:

84

:

9

85

8

91

85

75

85

100

79

95

70

81

9

84

94

:

79

88

98

105

114

66

88

92

92

92

10

:

:

:

:

:

6

:

77

52

77

72

54

76

70

65

70

81

72

64

61

77

59

:

6

68

66

86

84

84

62

66

54

86

78

:

:

:

:

:

70

:

78

75

75

69

71

76

70

70

75

71

69

84

91

75

81

:

76

71

101

91

75

62

74

78

68

110

112

:

:

:

:

:

91

:

87

:

72

:

75

:

Source: Eurostat.	Population	and	Social	Conditions	–	Labour	Market	–	Structure	of	
Earnings	Survey

66

2006_3908new.indd   66

17-01-2007   10:34:23

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Labour market

Graph 3.12: Annual gross hourly earnings of women 
as percentage of men's, 2002

120

100

80

92

91

85

72

73

51

47

71

62

%

60

94

74

69

89

91

84

75
74

83

74
70

74

68

75

70

93

93

76

76

91

79

103

106

94

95

80

80

81

81 82

75

75

71

104

100

98

91

82

83

83

74

109

108

92

85

85

86

63

64

66

61

62

65

66

66

59

52

119

112

110

101

91

80

72

80

80

73

73

70

89

75

90

75

63

40

20

0

MAXIMUM % among the nine sections of industry and services (see table 3.12)

TOTAL  in industry and services

MINIMUM % among the nine sections of industry and services (see table 3.12)

SK CY EE DE IE AT EL ES CZ NL LV DK PT

IT

LU LT

FI BE FR HU SE PO SI

EU-25

BU

RO

IS NO

Women’s earnings at 75 % of men’s

The	pay	difference	between	women	and	men	is	usually	measured	by	expressing	
women’s	average	earnings	per	hour	as	a	percentage	of	men’s.	In	Industry	and	
Services	 this	 percentage	 varies	 from	 70	%	 in	 UK,	 meaning	 that	 on	 average	
women	earn	0	%	less	than	men,	to	89	%	in	Slovenia,	where	on	average	women	
earn	11	%	less	than	men.	In	EU-25	women	are	paid	on	average	25	%	less	per	
hour	than	men,	without	adjusting	for	the	personal	and	job	characteristics.

Among	the	economic	activities	within	Industry	and	Services	the	smallest	pay	
differences	 between	 women	 and	 men	 in	 EU-25	 are	 found	 in	 Construction,	
Transport	 and	 Mining	 and	 Quarrying	 with	 a	 ratio	 F/M	 of	 respectively	 90	%,	
84	%	 and	 8	%.	 The	 biggest	 pay	 difference	 between	 women	 and	 men	 is	 in	
Financial	 Intermediation	 with	 a	 ratio	 F/M	 of	 6	%.	 The	 economic	 activities	
where	the	pay	difference	is	smallest	are	those	where	relatively	few	women	are	
employed.	More	detailed	analysis	by	economic	activity	and	occupation	shows	
that	 in	 Construction	 (F),	Transport	 (I)	 and	 Mining	 and	 Quarrying	 (C),	 female	
employment	is	concentrated	in	non-manual	work	whereas	male	employment	is	
concentrated	in	manual	work.	This	means	that	the	majority	of	women	in	these	
economic	activities	have	generally	better	paid	jobs.	In	Financial	Intermediation	
(J)	where	the	pay	difference	is	largest,	employment	is	mainly	in	non-manual	
work	both	for	women	and	men.	However	a	majority	of	women	are	clerks	and	
technicians,	whereas	men	are	more	often	managers	and	professionals.

When	 comparing	 the	 level	 of	 earnings	 of	 women	 and	 men,	 it	 should	 be	 kept	
in	mind	that	the	pay	differences	are	related	to	differences	in	the	personal	and	
job	 characteristics	 of	 women	 and	 men	 in	 employment.	 	 For	 instance,	 women	
and	 men	 do	 not	 have	 the	 same	 breakdown	 of	 employment	 across	 economic	
activities,	and	do	not	have	the	same	type	of	jobs.	Furthermore,	working	women	
take	probably	more	and	longer	career	breaks,	and	as	a	result,	they	have	less	
seniority	 and	 maybe	 less	 of	 an	 opportunity	 to	 occupy	 management	 positions.	
This	means	that	the	differences	observed	in	average	earnings	do	not	necessarily	
reflect	a	gap	in	pay	between	women	and	men	occupying	an	equivalent	job	with	
the	 same	 level	 of	 seniority.	 	 Structural	 pay	 differences	 are	 also	 due	 to	 other	
factors,	like	the	level	of	education,	and	all	these	factors	are	interrelated.

more  data:	 Eurostat.	 Population	 and	 Social	 Conditions	 –	 Labour	 Market	 –	 Structure	 of	
Earnings	Survey

67

2006_3908new.indd   67

17-01-2007   10:34:24

Labour market

Table 3.13: minimum wage

EUro

PPS

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2001

2002

2003

2004 p 2005 p 2006 p

EU-25

Euro area

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

1	118 1	16 1	16 1	186 1	210 1	24 1	087 1	17 1	118 1	18 1	160 1	18

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

.

.

	268

	760

	665

.

.

	299

	786

	701

:

.

.

:

:

.

.

	199 	207 	25 	261

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

	118 	18 	159 	172 	192

:

.

.

:

:

.

.

.

.

.

.

	190 	219 	252

	51 	82

	418

	440

	544 	552 	605 	61 	668 	690 	64 	671 	716 	741

	4 	516 	526 	57 	599 	61 	509 	607 	608 	615

1	08 1	126 1	154 1	17 1	197 1	218 1	027 1	061 1	091 1	086 1	10 1	122

	945 1	009 1	07 1	07 1	18 1	29 	814 	824 	848 	872

	959 1	048

.

.

:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

	107 	116 	121 	116 	129

.

.

:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

	179 	197 	21

	202

	265

	228

	291

	120 	120 	125 	125 	145 	159 	226 	228 	227 	228

1	259 1	290 1	69 1	40 1	467 1	50 1	22 1	259 1	00 1	22 1	71 1	405

:

:

	202 	212 	189 	22 	247

	552 	54 	542 	557 	580

:

:

	62 	4 	40

	76 	700 	727

	61

	757

	96

	782

1	154 1	207 1	249 1	265 1	265 1	27 1	110 1	146 1	171 1	202 1	20 1	210

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

	196 	212 	201 	177 	205 	24 	29 	1 	41 	47

	90 	406 	416 	426 	47 	450 	52 	5 	477 	497

:

:

.

.

:

	451 	471 	490 	512 	529 	555 	569 	615

	114 	1 	148 	167 	18

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

:

.

.

	258 	266 	277

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

	54

	51

	642

	292

.

.

.

	75

	528

	670

	10

.

.

1	10 1	118 1	106 1	08 1	197 1	269 	975 	995 	989 1	061 1	160 1	201

	44

	51

	56

	61

	77

	82 	11 	12 	12 	14

	177

	189

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

	62

	7

	69

	72

	90

:

:

:

:

:

	189 	240 	240 	1

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

	16 	160 	160

:

:

:

:

:

	25 	412

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

	146

	444

	172

	48

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

note: The	minimum	monthly	wages	are	calculated	on	an	annual	basis	(thus	including	
the	1th	and	14th	month	payments	where	applicable).	
Source: Eurostat.	Population	and	Social	Conditions	–	Labour	Market

68

2006_3908new.indd   68

17-01-2007   10:34:25

Labour market

Graph 3.13: Monthly minimum wages in euro and in PPS, 2005

Euro per month

PPS per month

1 600

1 400

1 200

1 000

 800

 600

 400

 200

 0

LV LT SK EE PL HU CZ PT SI MT ES EL

IE FR UK BE NL LU

BG RO TR

minimum wages in 18 member States

On	 1	 January	 2005	 there	 is	 a	 minimum	 wage	 in	 18	 of	 the	 25	 EU	 Member	
States	and	in	three	candidate	countries.	Three	groups	of	countries	with	distinct	
levels	 of	 minimum	 wages	 can	 be	 distinguished.	The	 first	 group	 includes	 the	
candidate	 countries	 Bulgaria,	 Romania	 and	 Turkey	 and	 7	 of	 the	 10	 new	
Member	 States	 (Latvia,	 Lithuania,	 Slovakia,	 Estonia,	 Poland,	 Hungary	 and	
Czech	Republic).	Minimum	wages	there	varied	between	72	and	240	euro	on	
1	January	2005.		The	second	group	with	minimum	wages	between	47	and	
668	euro	on	1	January	2005	includes	two	new	Member	States,	Slovenia	and	
Malta,	as	well	as	Portugal,	Spain	and	Greece.	The	third	group,	with	minimum	
wages	in	excess	of	1	000	euro,	includes	Ireland,	France,	the	United	Kingdom,	
Belgium,	the	Netherlands	and	Luxembourg.

Differences	in	the	levels	of	the	minimum	monthly	wages	are	markedly	reduced	
when	expressed	in	purchasing	power	standards	(PPS).	In	particular,	removing	
differences	in	price	levels	between	the	countries	shows	the	purchasing	power	
of	 the	 minimum	 wage	 to	 be	 higher	 in	 all	 new	 MS,	 as	 well	 as	 in	 Spain	 and	
Greece.	 In	 the	 Member	 States,	 the	 minimum	 wage	 in	 euros	 ranged	 from	
116	to	1	467	euro	in	January	2005,	which	represents	a	factor	of	about	1:1;	
in	 contrast,	 the	 minimum	 wage	 in	 PPS	 extended	 between	 202	 and	 1	71,	 a	
factor	of	about	1:7.

The	 percentage	 of	 females	 on	 the	 minimum	 wage	 was	 usually	 higher	 than	
that	for	males.	In	the	majority	of	the	countries	for	which	data	are	available,	the	
minimum	wage	was	less	than	50	%	of	the	average	monthly	gross	earnings.

Further reading:	Statistics	in	Focus	(Population	and	social	conditions)	No.	7/2005:	
“Minimum	wages	2005.	Major	differences	between	EU	Member	States”.

69

2006_3908new.indd   69

17-01-2007   10:34:26

Labour market

Table 3.14: Time use structure of women aged 20 to 74  
(hours	and	minutes	per	day)

Free time 

meals, 
personal 
care

Sleep

Travel

domestic 
work

Gainful 
work, 
study

Total

EU-25

Euro area

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

24

:

:

24

24

:

:

24

:

:

:

:

:

:

4:50

2:4

8:29

1:19

4:2

2:07

:

:

5:24

4:6

:

:

:

:

2:4

2:08

:

:

:

:

8:19

8:5

:

:

:

:

1:18

1:06

:

:

:

:

4:11

5:02

:

:

:

:

2:05

2:

:

:

4:08

:02

8:55

0:54

4:0

2:1

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

4:8

2:19

8:42

0:51

4:57

2:2

24

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

4:29

2:08

8:24

1:02

4:57

2:59

:

5:29

5:0

5:05

:

2:06

2:28

2:16

:

8:2

8:11

8:27

:

1:07

1:2

1:25

:

:56

:42

4:15

:

2:49

:12

2:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

5:52

1:58

8:10

1:11

:47

:0

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

24

:

24

24

24

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

24

:

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

LI

IS

no

CH

Source: Pocket	book	on	‘How	Europeans	spend	their	time,	everyday	life	of	women	and	
men,		Eurostat,	June	2004.

70

2006_3908new.indd   70

17-01-2007   10:34:27

Labour market

Graph 3.14: Time use structure of women aged 20 to 74

Gainful work, study

Domestic work

Travel

Sleep

Meals, personal care

Free time

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BE

DE

EE

FR

HU

SI

FI

SE

UK

NO

domestic work emphasised in female use of time

Women	 aged	 20	 to	 74	 spend	 on	 average	 more	 time	 on	 domestic	 than	 on	
gainful	work.	The	share	of	gainful	work	is	the	largest	in	Sweden	and	Norway,	
and	 the	 smallest	 in	 Germany	 and	 Belgium.	 	 Travel	 takes	 more	 time	 than	 in	
the	other	countries	for	women	in	the	United	Kingdom	and	Sweden,	and	less	
in	Hungary	and	France.	

Women	sleep	over	eight	hours	during	an	average	day	of	the	year.	Naps	during	
daytime	 are	 also	 included.	 Women	 in	 France	 seem	 to	 spend	 more	 time	 on	
sleeping	than	others	but	the	coding	of	rest	in	France	differed	somewhat	from	
the	other	countries.	The	differences	between	the	countries	are	small	and	the	
shortest	 hours	 of	 sleep	 are	 found	 among	 Norwegian	 and	 Swedish	 women.	
Women	in	these	countries	also	spend	more	time	on	employment.

Women	 in	 France,	 Belgium	 and	 Germany	 spend	 more	 time	 on	 meals	 and	
personal	care	than	in	the	other	compared	countries.	This	may	reflect	different	
habits	of	combining	meals	with	socialising.	Norwegian	women	seem	to	enjoy	
the	largest	amount	of	free	time.	This	is,	however,	partly	explained	by	a	different	
way	 of	 recording	 socialising	 during	 meals.	 The	 least	 amount	 of	 free	 time	 is	
found	among	French	women.

Further reading:	Pocket	book	on	‘How	European	spend	their	time’,	Eurostat,	June	2004;	
Working	Paper	on	‘Comparable	time	use	statistics’,	Eurostat,	March	2005.

71

2006_3908new.indd   71

17-01-2007   10:34:27

Labour market

Table 3.15: Time use structure of men aged 20 to 74 
(hours	and	minutes	per	day)

Free time 

meals, 
personal 
care

Sleep

Travel

domestic 
work

Gainful 
work, 
study

Total

EU-25

Euro area

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

24

:

:

24

24

:

:

24

:

:

:

:

:

:

5:22

2:40

8:15

1:5

2:8

:0

:

:

5:5

5:28

:

:

:

:

2:

2:15

:

:

:

:

8:12

8:2

:

:

:

:

1:27

1:17

:

:

:

:

2:21

2:48

:

:

:

:

:5

:40

:

:

4:46

:01

8:45

1:0

2:22

4:0

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

5:29

2:1

8:1

1:0

2:9

:46

24

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

5:4

2:1

8:17

1:09

2:9

4:07

:

6:08

5:24

5:0

:

2:01

2:11

2:04

:

8:22

8:01

8:18

:

1:12

1:0

1:0

:

2:16

2:29

2:18

:

4:01

4:25

4:18

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

6:0

1:47

7:57

1:20

2:22

4:1

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

24

:

24

24

24

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

24

:

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

LI

IS

no

CH

Source: Pocket	book	on	‘How	Europeans	spend	their	time,	everyday	life	of	women	and	
men,		Eurostat,	June	2004.

72

2006_3908new.indd   72

17-01-2007   10:34:28

Labour market

Graph 3.15: Time use structure of men aged 20 to 74

Gainful work, study

Domestic work

Travel

Sleep

Meals, personal care

Free time

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

BE

DE

EE

FR

HU

SI

FI

SE

UK

NO

Gainful work emphasised in male use of time

On	 average,	 men	 spend	 more	 time	 on	 gainful	 work	 than	 on	 domestic	 tasks	
while	 the	 situation	 is	 the	 opposite	 with	 women.	The	 share	 of	 gainful	 work	 is	
the	 largest	 in	 Norway,	 Sweden	 and	 the	 United	 Kingdom	 and	 the	 smallest	 in	
Belgium	and	Germany.	The	total	time	spent	on	work	activities	–	gainful	work,	
study	and	domestic	work	–	is	slightly	shorter	for	men	than	for	women	in	the	
compared	countries	except	for	Norway	and	Sweden,	where	it	is	equal.

On	 average,	 men	 spend	 slightly	 more	 time	 on	 daily	 travel	 than	 women	 do.
Men	 sleep	 on	 average	 slightly	 less	 than	 women	 in	 the	 countries	 compared.	
Among	 men,	 differences	 across	 the	 countries	 are	 similar	 to	 those	 observed	
among	women	on	the	previous	page.	Men	spend	the	longest	time	sleeping	in	
France,	Estonia	and	Hungary,	and	the	shortest	in	Norway	and	Sweden.	In	all	
the	countries	men	enjoy	more	free	time	than	women	do.	The	amounts	of	free	
time	for	men	vary	between	less	than	five	hours	to	around	six	hours	per	day.	
The	least	amount	of	free	time	is	found	in	France.

Further reading:	Pocket	book	on	‘How	Europeans	spend	their	time’,	Eurostat,	June	2004;	
Working	Paper	on	‘Comparable	time	use	statistics’,	Eurostat,	March	2005.

7

2006_3908new.indd   73

17-01-2007   10:34:28

2006_3908new.indd   74

17-01-2007   10:34:28

4.  

InComE, PoVErTy and 
SoCIaL EXCLUSIon;
ConSUmPTIon

2006_3908new.indd   75

17-01-2007   10:34:28

Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

Table 4.1: risk of poverty

at-risk-of-poverty rate (%)

Population sub-group, 2004

at-risk-of-
poverty 
threshold 
(value)

Total 

0-15

16-24

25-49

50-64

65+

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

no

CH

16

17

15

8

11

16

18

20

20

14

21

19

15

16

15

11

12

15

12

1

17

21

10

21

11

11

18

15

18

:

17

26

10

11

:

20

20

17

15

9

20

20

20

24

14

22

26

11

19

17

18

17

21

18

15

2

2

9

0

10

11

22

22

16

:

22

4

1

8

:

21

22

16

9

27

24

21

24

19

20

18

25

9

19

15

12

14

10

20

1

21

21

11

24

20

26

18

20

17

:

20

26

12

26

:

14

14

12

8

9

1

18

16

16

11

14

18

9

15

14

12

11

14

11

11

17

17

8

22

8

8

1

14

1

:

15

21

9

8

:

14

14

12

8

9

1

18

16

16

11

14

18

9

15

14

12

11

14

11

11

17

17

8

22

8

8

1

14

1

:

15

21

9

8

:

1

1

1

5

4

12

16

19

17

12

22

14

1

16

15

7

9

12

7

10

11

19

9

15

8

5

16

10

17

:

1

17

5

4

:

PPS

7	716

8	249

8	96

4	82

9	176

9	175

2	52

6	272

7	254

8	64

8	502

7	450

7	822

2	064

2	298

15	522

	722

5	711

9	869

9	60

2	662

4	697

6	088

	554

7	91

8	501

9	78

2	0

4	11

:

1	116

1	88

10	215

10	859

:

notes:  1)		Survey	year	2004,	except	CZ,	EE,	CY,	LV,	LT,	HU,	NL,	PL,	SI,	UK,	HR,	
RO,	TR:	200	and	MT:	2000.	Income	reference	period	may	vary.	2)		Group-of-country	
aggregates	are	computed	as	population	weighted	average	of	available	national	values.	
Information	for	survey	year	2004	is	for	income	reference	period	200.
Source: Eurostat	-	BE,	DK,	EL,	ES,	FR,	IE,	IT,	LU,	AT,	PT,	FI,	SE,	IS	and	NO:	
EU-SILC;	 Other	countries:	National	sources	ex-post	harmonised.

76

2006_3908new.indd   76

17-01-2007   10:34:29

Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

Graph 4.1: At-risk-of-poverty rate by age, survey year 2004

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

EU-
25

Euro
area

CZ SI DK CY FI SE LU HU NL AT MT BE FR DE LT UK PL ES IE LV EE EL IT PT SK

BG HR RO TR MK

IS NO CH

0-15 years 

16-64 years

65 years and over

16 % of EU citizens currently at risk of poverty

In	 2004,	 on	 average	 for	 the	 EU-25	 as	 a	 whole	 16	%	 of	 persons	 had	 an	
equivalised	household	disposable	income	below	60	%	of	the	national	median	
for	the	country	they	live	in.	This	figure	masks	considerable	variation	between	
Member	States	–	with	the	share	of	the	population	at	risk	ranging	from	8	%	in	
Czech	 Republic	 to	 21	%	 in	 Ireland,	 Portugal	 and	 Slovakia.	The	 share	 of	 the	
population	living	on	a	low	income	for	an	extended	period	of	time	is	of	particular	
concern,	 although	 during	 the	 transition	 to	 EU-SILC	 current	 figures	 are	 not	
available	on	this	phenomenon.	

In	 2004,	 the	 EU-25	 average	 at-risk-of-poverty	 threshold	 stands	 at	 7	716	
PPS	 (and	 median	 income	 stands	 at	 12	860	 PPS).	 In	 the	 Member	 States,	
thresholds	 vary	 from	 27	%	 of	 the	 EU-25	 average	 in	 Latvia	 to	 201	%	 of	 the	
average	 in	 Luxembourg.	 Whilst	 low	 income	 does	 not	 necessarily	 mean	 low	
living	standards,	this	disparity	suggests	a	likelihood	of	big	differences	between	
national	standards	of	living.

Exposure	 to	 poverty	 risk	 can	 be	 analysed	 by	 various	 factors	 to	 highlight	
important	 differences	 in	 the	 relative	 situation	 of	 population	 sub-groups.	 A	
comparison	 of	 the	 risk	 of	 poverty	 rate	 for	 the	 elderly	 (aged	 65+)	 and	 the	
situation	 of	 children	 (aged	 0-15),	 indicates	 the	 generally	 more	 favourable	
income	 situation	 of	 the	 elderly	 and	 the	 generally	 less	 favourable	 situation	 of	
the	young	by	comparison	to	persons	aged	16-64.

77

2006_3908new.indd   77

17-01-2007   10:34:30

Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

Table 4.2: Income and risk of poverty

at-risk-of-poverty rate (%)

after  
all  
transfers

after  
pensions, 
before  
other  
transfers

before  
all  
transfers

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

no

CH

16

17

15

8

11

16

18

20

20

14

21

19

15

16

15

11

12

15

12

1

17

21

10

21

11

11

18

15

18

:

17

26

10

11

:

26

25

28

21

1

24

25

2

25

26



2

20

24

2

22

17

19

2

25

1

27

16

28

29

0

29

18

1

:

22

1

18

26

:

41

41

42

9

9

6

41

40

41

44

9

45

28

4

9

8

2

0

7

42

49

42

7

44

42

4

4

40

9

:

41

0

27

6

:

Composition of income (%)

Income 
from  
Work

Income 
from  
Pensions

Income 
from  
other 
benefits

Income 
from  
other 
sources

median 
equivalised 
disposable 
income 

 (value)

12	860

1	748

14	98

7	0

15	29

15	292

	920

10	45

12	090

14	405

14	170

12	417

1	07

	440

	80

:

:

62

71

6

:

:

7

70

62

67

66

82

:

:

:

:

18

15

1

:

:

2

22

22

12

28

11

:

:

:

:

18

10

2

:

:



7

15

21

5

4

:

:

25	870

71

16

12

6	20

9	518

16	448

16	050

4	47

7	828

10	147

5	92

1	218

14	168

16	05

	88

6	885

:

1	860

	06

17	025

18	098

:

:

:

:

65

:

68

68

:

6

61

:

:

:

:

:

:

79

69

:

:

:

:

20

:

22

22

:

16

17

:

:

:

:

:

:

11

1

:

:

:

:

14

:

9

6

:

20

21

:

:

:

:

:

:

10

17

:

:

:

2

4

0

:

:

4

2



1

2



:

:

2

:

:

:

1

:

2

5

:

0

2

:

:

:

:

:

:

0

0

:

notes:  1)		Survey	year	2004,	except	CZ,	EE,	CY,	LV,	LT,	HU,	NL,	PL,	SI,	UK,	HR,	
RO,	TR:	200	and	MT:	2000.	Income	reference	period	may	vary.	2)		Group-of-country	
aggregates	are	computed	as	population	weighted	average	of	available	national	values.	
Information	for	survey	year	2004	is	for	income	reference	period	200.
Source: Eurostat	-	BE,	DK,	EL,	ES,	FR,	IE,	IT,	LU,	AT,	PT,	FI,	SE,	IS	and	NO:	EU-SILC;		
Other	countries:	National	sources	ex-post	harmonised.

78

2006_3908new.indd   78

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Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

Graph 4.2: At-risk-of-poverty rate before social transfers other than 
pensions and after all social transfers, survey year 2004

40

30

s
r
e

f
s
n
a
r
t

l
l

a

r
e

t
f

A

%

20

10

0

0

0%

25%

50%

75%

EL ES

IT

PT

EE

SK

IE

DE, LV

EU-25

MT

HU

SI

CY

LT

BE

AT

NL

FR

FI

LU

CZ

UK

SE

PL

DK

After pensions, before 
other transfers 

10

20

%

30

40

differing sources of income

In	 2004,	 it	 is	 clear	 amongst	 EU-25	 member	 states	 that	 the	 main	 source	 of	
household	 income	 (approaching	 70	%)	 arises	 from	 work	 (employment	 and	
self-employment),	 with	 the	 second	 main	 component	 (around	 0	%)	 from	
pensions	 and	 other	 social	 transfers;	 the	 remainder	 comes	 from	 capital	 and	
other	private	sources.	There	are	some	differences	between	member	states.	

In	the	hypothetical	absence	of	all	social	transfers,	the	poverty	risk	for	the	EU	as	
a	whole	in	2004	would	be	considerably	higher	than	it	is	in	reality	(41	%	instead	
of	16	%).	If	pensions	are	considered	as	income	rather	than	social	transfers	the	
rate	would	be	26	%	instead.	The	impact	of	social	transfers	other	than	pensions	
is	lowest	in	Southern	countries	and	highest	in	Scandinavian	countries.

Access	 to	 employment	 is	 a	 key	 aspect	 of	 social	 inclusion.	 Poverty	 risk	 is	
higher	amongst	the	unemployed	and	inactive	(other	than	retired)	members	of	
the	population.	

79

2006_3908new.indd   79

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Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

Table 4.3: activity status and social exclusion

Persons living in 
jobless households (%)

risk of poverty rate by work intensity (%)

no dependent 
children

Household with dependent 
children

0-17

18-59 
(female)

18-59 
(male)

WI = 0 WI < 1 WI = 1 WI = 0 WI < 0.5 WI < 1 WI = 1

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

no

CH

10

8

1

9

6

11

10

5

6

10

12

6



7

7



1

9

7

6

:

4

4

1

6

:

17

16

7

:

11

:

:

:

:

11

11

16

10

9

11

9

11

8

12

10

10

6

8

8

8

1

10

9

10

17

6

8

12

11

:

1

14

12

:

12

:

:

:

:

9

9

11

6

8

11

10

6

7

10

7

8

4

7

8

5

11

7

7

8

15

5

7

10

11

:

9

1

10

:

10

:

:

:

:

2



0

:

21

7

:

29

48

26

62

27

:

:

:

1

:

1

28

20

:

2

:

:

25

18

:

2

4

:

:

:

:

12

12

7

:

7

1

:

14

15

10

10

12

:

:

:

9

:



6

10

:

15

:

:

9

14

:

9

5

:

:

:

:

25

:

11

:

5

5



:

5

6

:

10

7



5

4

:

:

:

6

:

0

4

6

:

9

:

:

5

5

:

1

5

:

:

:

:

4

:

68

70

70

:

40

78

:

52

68

71

80

66

:

:

:

27

:

78

64

9

:

58

:

:

42

42

:

61

47

:

:

:

:

44

45

28

:

7

45

:

46

57

40

5

51

:

:

:

28

:

27

45

44

:

41

:

:

29

26

:

0

14

:

:

:

:

40

:

15

:

17

17

14

:

9

1

:

22

26

1

16

24

:

:

:

17

:

16

19

1

:

27

:

:

9

10

:

11



:

:

:

:

7

:

7

7

4

:

5

8

:

11

11

5

4

6

:

:

:

7

:

1

6

6

:

10

:

:



6

:

0

0

:

:

:

:

4

:

notes: 1)		Survey	year	2004,	except	NL,	HR:	200	and	MT:	2000.	Not	available	for	CZ,	
EE,	CY,	LV,	LT,	HU,	PL,	SI,	UK,	RO,	TR.	Income	reference	period	may	vary.		
2)		Group-of-country	aggregates	are	computed	as	population	weighted	average	of	
available	national	values.	Information	for	survey	year	2004	is	for	income	reference	
period	200.
Sources: 1)		Eurostat	-	BE,	DK,	EL,	ES,	FR,	IE,	IT,	LU,	AT,	PT,	FI,	SE,	IS	and	NO:		
EU-SILC;		Other	countries:	National	sources	ex-post	harmonised.	2)		Eurostat	-	EU-LFS

80

2006_3908new.indd   80

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Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

Graph 4.3: Risk of poverty rate in jobless households according 
to presence of dependent children, survey year 2004 

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

EU-25

BE

DK

DE

EL

ES

FR

IE

IT

LU

MT

NL

AT

PT

FI

SE

No dependent children

Household with dependent children

access to employment 

Labour	 market	 participation	 is	 widely	 recognised	 as	 an	 important	 factor	 for	
social	inclusion,	although	it	would	be	wrong	to	assume	that	the	absence	of	a	
job	automatically	leads	to	financial	poverty	or	that	having	a	job	is	a	sufficient	
condition	 for	 escaping	 monetary	 poverty.	 In	 2004,	 around	 10	%	 of	 the	 EU	
population	aged	0-59	were	living	in	households	where	none	of	the	members	
of	 working	 age	 were	 in	 employment.	 This	 percentage	 masks	 considerable	
variation	between	member	states,	and	in	the	relative	situation	of	children	aged	
0-17	and	adults	aged	18-59.

The	 at-risk-of-poverty	 rate	 amongst	 jobless	 households	 is	 especially	 high	
–	 at	 least	 4	 times	 that	 of	 households	 where	 all	 members	 of	 working	 age	
are	 employed.	 The	 situation	 is	 particularly	 worrying	 when	 the	 presence	 of	
dependent	children	is	taken	into	account:	whereas	the	risk	is	broadly	similar	for	
fully-employed	households,	the	risk	is	doubled	for	jobless	households.

Unemployment	which	persists	over	time	is	of	particular	concern.	The	long-term	
unemployment	rate,	i.e.	the	percentage	of	the	EU-25	population	without	a	job	
for	more	than	12	months	stood	at	.9	%	in	2005.	This	rate	varied	from	1.0	%	
in	the	United	Kingdom	to	11.7	%	in	Slovakia.

81

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Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

Table 4.4: Structure of household final consumption 
expenditure (percentage of total), 1999

Housing, 
water,  
electricity 
and other 
fuels

Food, 
drinks and 
tobacco

Transport 
and com-
munication

recreation, 
hotels and 
restaurants

Clothing 
and foot-
wear

Furnish-
ings, 
household 
equipment 
and repairs

other 
goods and 
services

Total

:

:

100

100

100

100

97

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

:

:

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

no

CH

:

:

26

18

28

1

18

22

28

28

27

25

20

18

1

27

20

9

27

24

19

20

11

16

28

27

28

14

:

:

:

:

16

27

17

14

8

20

21

18

24

21

19

42

50

12

0

24

1

16

6

22

27



17

18

14

5

:

:

:

:

15

14

16

16

10

15

15

16

16

16

20

12

10

18

17

19

1

17

1

18

20

11

20

16

16

9

:

:

8

:

:

:

:

:

:

16

16

15

17

10

1

15

1

14

11

12

8

8

18

10

17

17

18

8

14

15

14

15

18

21

7

:

:

4

:

:

:

:

:

:

5

7

6

6

7

9

7

6

6

8

8

7

8

6

7

8

6

7

6

7

9

9

5

5

6

6

:

:

7

:

:

:

:

:

:

7

8

6

8

5

8

5

6

5

8

7

5

5

8

5

11

7

7

7

7

7

6

5

5

7

4

:

:

4

:

:

:

:

:

:

15

11

11

9

9

14

9

14

8

12

15

9

7

11

12

12

18

12

11

1

12

10

11

10

8

7

:

:

6

:

:

:

:

100

1

58

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

notes: 1)	CZ,	EE,	LV,	LT,	HU,	PL,	BG	and	RO	do	not	account	for	any	imputed	
rent	for	owners-occupiers.	This	means	that	“housing”	data	of	these	countries	are	
underestimated	compared	to	the	others.	For	this	reason,	the	aggregate	for		the	EU-25		
has	not	been	calculated.	2)	EE:	%	corresponds	to	non-monetary	consumption	
expenditure	on	non-food	items	which	could	not	be	broken	down	by	COICOP	divisions.
Source: Eurostat	-	Household	Budget	Surveys

82

2006_3908new.indd   82

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Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

Graph 4.4: Structure of consumption expenditure 
by income quintile, EU-15, 1999

100

90

80

70

60

%

50

40

30

20

10

0

10

6

6

13

13

23

30

11

7

6

14

14

20

29

Q1

Q2

11

7

6

15

15

18

28

Q3

11

7

6

17

16

16

27

Q4

12

8

6

18

18

13

25

Q5

Other goods and services

Furniture, household
equipment, repairs

Clothing and footwear

Recreation, hotels and
restaurants

Transport and
communication

Food, drinks, tobacco

Housing, water, electricity
and other fuel

Note: The first quintile Q1 is the 20 % of households with the lowest income in each country and the last quintile Q5 is 
the 20 % of households with highest income in each country.

Housing and food are the main components of con-
sumption expenditure 

The	 consumption	 habits	 of	 Europeans	 vary	 substantially	 among	 the	 25	
Member	 States.	 Factors	 such	 as	 culture,	 tradition,	 household	 composition,	
income	and	degree	of	urbanisation	can	influence	habits	in	each	country.	The	
accession	 of	 ten	 new	 Member	 States	 in	 2004	 has	 made	 those	 differences	
even	more	apparent	than	before.

In	 nearly	 all	 old	 Member	 States	 (EU-15),	 housing	 accounts	 for	 the	 largest	
share	 of	 household	 expenditure	 (around	 28	%).	 The	 other	 basic	 necessity	
(food)	occupies	second	place	in	most	cases.	This	pattern	is	inverted	for	most	
of	the	ten	new	Member	States,	where	housing	ranks	second	far	behind	food,	
drinks	and	tobacco.

The	graph	above	shows	some	significant	differences	in	the	EU-15	consumption	
expenditure	patterns	(most	notably	in	food,	housing	and	transport)	across	five	
income	 groups.	 Food	 represents	 22	%	 of	 total	 expenditure	 of	 low	 income	
households	but	only	1	%	of	the	budget	of	high-income	households.	Housing	
accounts	 for	 1	%	 of	 total	 consumption	 expenditure	 in	 the	 lowest	 quintile	
compared	with	26	%	in	the	highest.	This	indicates,	to	some	extent,	the	relatively	
high	costs	of	adequate	housing	for	the	lower	income	group.	Consequently,	the	
lower	 income	 group	 spends	 considerably	 less	 of	 their	 budget	 on	 recreation,	
hotels	and	restaurants	as	well	as	on	transport	and	communication.

Further  reading:	 Panorama	 of	 the	 European	 Union	 (Population	 and	 social	 conditions):	
‘Consumers	 in	 Europe.	 Facts	 and	 figures.	 Data	 1999-2004’,	 Eurostat.	 NewCronos	 Data-
base,	Population	and	social	conditions	–	HBS.

8

2006_3908new.indd   83

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Income, poverty and social exclusion; Consumption

background information

Higher	profile	of	statistics	on	income	poverty	and	social	exclusion

At	the	Nice	European	Council	in	December	2000,	Member	States	reconfirmed	
and	 implemented	 their	 March	 2000	 decision	 in	 Lisbon	 that	 the	 fight	 against	
poverty	 and	 social	 exclusion	 (target:	 eradication	 of	 poverty	 by	 2010)	 would	
be	best	achieved	via	an	open	method	of	co-ordination.	Key	elements	of	this	
approach	are	the	definition	of	commonly-agreed	objectives,	the	development	
of	 national	 action	 plans	 to	 meet	 these	 objectives,	 and	 the	 periodic	 reporting	
and	monitoring	of	progress	made.	It	is	in	this	context	that	the	Laeken	European	
Council	 in	 December	 2001	 adopted	 a	 first	 set	 of	 18	 statistical	 indicators	 for	
social	 inclusion,	 which	 give	 a	 balanced	 perspective	 of	 EU	 social	 concerns.	
They	 cover	 four	 important	 dimensions	 of	 social	 cohesion:	 monetary	 poverty,	
employment,	health	and	education	–	highlighting	the	multi-dimensional	nature	
of	 this	 phenomenon.	 Efforts	 are	 ongoing	 to	 refine	 and	 extend	 this	 list	 of	
indicators	 (for	 example,	 to	 cover	 non-monetary	 poverty,	 poverty	 in	 work,	 the	
situation	of	children,	regional	breakdowns,	homelessness	and	other	issues).

Further  reading:	 “European	 social	 statistics:	 Income	 poverty	 &	 social	 exclusion”,	 2000,	
Eurostat.	“Income	poverty	&	social	exclusion:	2nd	report”,	200,	Eurostat.	“European	Com-
munity	Household	Panel	(ECHP):	Selected	indicators	from	the	1995	wave”,	1999,	Eurostat.	
Statistics	in	focus	(Population	and	social	conditions):	“Poverty	and	social	exclusion	in	the	
EU	 after	 Laeken-part1”,	 No	 8/200,	 Eurostat.	 Statistics	 in	 focus	 (Population	 and	 social	
conditions):	“Poverty	and	social	exclusion	in	the	EU	after	Laeken-part2”,	No	9/200,	“Mon-
etary	poverty	in	acceding	and	candidate	countries”,	No	21/200,	“Monetary	poverty	in	new	
member	states	and	candidate	countries”,	No	12/2004,	“Poverty	and	social	exclusion	in	the	
EU”,	 No	 16/2004,	 “IN	 work	 poverty”,	 No	 5/2005,	 “Income	 poverty	 and	 social	 exclusion	 in	
the	EU25”,	No	1/2005,	“Material	deprivation	in	the	EU”,	No	21/2005,	Eurostat.	“The	Social	
Situation	 in	 the	 European	 Union	 2004”,	 European	 Commission.	 “Joint	 Inclusion	 Report”,	
“Joint	 Inclusion	 Memorandum”,	 “Joint	 Report	 on	 social	 inclusion	 and	 social	 protection”,	
European	 Commission.	 “Report	 to	 the	 Spring	 European	 Council,	 21	 March	 200”,	 Euro-
pean	Commission.	Eurostat	‘Free	data’	website	domain	Income	and	living	conditions	(under	
theme	‘Population	and	social	conditions’...	‘Living	conditions	and	welfare’).

84

2006_3908new.indd   84

17-01-2007   10:34:35

5.  

SoCIaL
ProTECTIon

2006_3908new.indd   85

17-01-2007   10:34:35

Social protection

Table 5.1: Social protection expenditure

as a percentage of GdP

1995

2003

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

:

27.9

28.1

17.2

1.9

28.2

:

22.

22.1

0.

18.8

24.8

:

:

:

2.7

:

17.5

0.9

28.9

:

21.

:

18.7

1.4

4.6

28.2

:

:

:

:

:

19.

:

26.7

25.7

28.0 e

28.1 e

29.7 e

20.1 p

0.9

0.2 p

1.4 p

26. e

19.7 p

0.9 p

16.5 p

26.4 p

16.4 p

1.4 p

1.6 p

2.8 p

21.4

18.5

28.1 p

29.5

21.6 p

24. p

24.6 p

18.4 p

26.9

.5 p

26.7

:

:

:

:

:

2.8

:

27.7

29.8

Per capita in 
PPS

Per capita in 
ECU/EUro

2003

6	012.2 e

6	564.0 e

7	476.2 e

2	96.6 p

8	115.0

7	086.5 p

1	411.2 p

4	567.1 e

4	186.0 p

7	4.9 p

4	81.6 p

6	02.5 p

2	904. p

1	17.9 p

1	41.5 p

2003

6	012.2 e

6	654.8 e

7	719.2 e

159.6	 p

10	781.9

7	911.4 p

	800.6 p

	671.1 e

	655.7 p

7	91.9 p

5	744.0 p

5	956.1 p

2	561.2 p

	586. p

	645.1 p

10	904.6 p

12	652.6 p

2	78.1

2	879.2

7	604.5 p

7	699.8

2	120.8 p

4	076.4 p

4	076.4 p

2	062.8 p

6	560.

8	258.0 p

6	812.

:

:

:

:

:

1	590.4

1	964.4

8	28.7 p

8	22.6

1	101.9 p

	192.2 p

	07.9 p

	962.1 p

7	426.9

9	9.4 p

7	51.5

:

:

:

:

:

6	08.8

7	896.9

:

8	727.8

8	6.

:

12	999.6

12	125.4

notes: 1)	Social	protection	encompasses	all	interventions	from	public	or	private	bodies	
intended	to	relieve	households	and	individuals	of	the	burden	of	a	defined	set	of	risks	
or	needs,	provided	that	there	is	neither	a	simultaneous	reciprocal	nor	an	individual	
arrangement	involved.	2)	GDP	=	Gross	Domestic	Product	and	PPS	=	Purchasing	
Power	Standards.	)	CY:	2002.
Source: Eurostat	-	European	system	of	integrated	social	protection	statistics	
(ESSPROS).

86

2006_3908new.indd   86

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Graph 5.1: Expenditure on social protection 
in PPS per capita, 2003

Social protection

10 904.6

8 258.0

8 115.0

7 699.8

7 604.5

7 476.2

7 433.9

7 086.5

6 812.3

6 564.0

6 560.3

6 023.5

6 012.2

4 813.6

4 567.1

4 186.0

4 076.4

4 076.4

2 963.6

2 904.3

2 879.2

2 783.1

2 120.8

2 062.8

1 411.2

1 341.5

1 173.9

LU

SE

DK

AT

NL

BE

FR

DE

UK

Euro area

FI

IT

EU-25

IE

EL

ES

SI

PT

CZ

CY(2002)

MT

HU

PL

SK

EE

LT

LV

0

2 000

4 000

6 000

8 000

10 000

12 000

Social protection expenditure - disparities between 
countries

In	 200,	 social	 protection	 expenditure	 in	 the	 European	 Union	 accounted	 for	
28	%	of	GDP.	This	ratio	reflects	the	recent	upward	trend	experienced	in	most	
countries.	 The	 proportion	 was	 highest	 in	 Sweden	 (.5	%),	 Denmark	 and	
France	(both	0.9	%)	and	Germany	(0.2	%),	while	Estonia	and	Latvia	(both	
1.4	%)	and	Lithuania	(1.6	%)	recorded	the	lowest	ratios.

To	 some	 extent,	 these	 differences	 reflect	 differences	 in	 living	 standards,	 but	
they	 are	 also	 indicative	 of	 the	 diversity	 of	 national	 social	 protection	 systems	
and	of	the	demographic,	economic,	social	and	institutional	structures	specific	
to	each	country.

When	 social	 protection	 is	 expressed	 in	 PPS	 per	 capita,	 the	 differences	
between	countries	are	more	pronounced.	Within	EU-25,	Luxembourg	has	the	
highest	 expenditure	 in	 200,	 followed	 by	 Sweden	 and	 Denmark.	 Lithuania,	
Estonia	and	Latvia,	on	the	other	hand	spent	the	least.

Further reading:	“Social	Protection	expenditure	and	receipts	1995-200”,	2006.	Statistics	
in	Focus	(Population	and	Social	Conditions):	“Social	Protection	in	the	European	Union”,	No	
14/2005.	“ESSPROS	Manual”,	1996.	Eurostat.	“The	Social	Situation	in	the	European	Union	
2004”,	 European	 Commission.	 Eurostat	 Website/Population	 and	 social	 conditions/Living	
conditions	 and	 welfare/Social	 protection/	 Social	 protection	 expenditure/Expenditure-Sum-
mary	tables.	

87

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Social protection

Table 5.2: Social protection benefits by groups of functions 
(as	a	percentage	of	total	benefits)

old age and 
survivors 

Sickness, 
health care 
and disability 

Unemployment 

Family and 
children

1995

2003

1995

2003

1995

2003

1995

2003

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

45.5

4.1

8.8

7.7

42.8

52.1

4.9

4.5

26.5

6.4

8.1

2.8

7.5

4.1

:

45.7 e

:

6. e

:

46.2 e

5.7

5.6 e

8.5

6.6 e

7.5 e

44.5 e

2.5

.6 e

1.0

12.4 e

:

7.

8.8

8.8

2.0

8.0 e

8.0 e

7.8 e

7.5 p

7. e

.0 p

9.0 p

41. p

45.8

4.7 p

2.

.9 p

11.8

7.2

28.4

4.0

14.8

9.8

12.4

1.2

42.9 p

7.8

5.5 p

9.0

:

44.8 p

:

41.2 p

:

50.8 e

0.8

1.6 e

4.5

8.6 p

1.8 p

5.7 e

4.8 p

6.0

8.1 p

16.5

1. p

7.5

10.5 p

:

10.0 p

4. p

4.2

5. p

7.9

7.9 p

10.0

2.2 p

41.1

46.9 p

15.

8.4 p

12.0

16.0 p

61.8 p

0.2

2.1 p

.0

:

:

:

49.4 p

5.1 p

47.4 p

:

:

:

29.0 p

1.4 p

9.5 p

:

:

:

1.8 p

5.7 p

.2 p

1.8 p

.2

:

:

:

4.1 p

8.0 p

10.8 p

7.9 p

45.1

7.2 p

7.5

8.1 p

.1

4.2 p

1.1

17.7 p

:

51.4

8.0

47.2

41.

52.

:

29.

40.0

2.5

40. p

41.1

42.4 p

48.2

4.6

.

:

58.5 p

:

2.6 p

:

5.0

9.9

5.8

:

41.1

46.2 p

48.0

40. p

5.

:

45.0 p

:

40.7 p

:

2.8

6.7

6.2 p

:

1.0

11.8

4.6

5.6

4.9 p

6.0

11.2

10.8

4.0 p

5.5 p

.1 p

:

5.2

:

4.7 p

6.5 p

8.6 p

8. p

9.4 p

9.8

41.7 p

.5

5.8 p

14.0

7.0

5.9

8.4

14.4

9.9

1.4

11.5

40.1 p

4.2

40.5 p

10.8

5.9 p

11.

9.5 p

44.9

4.9

9.0

5.6

2.7

8.9

6.9

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

0.0

0.5

49.6

50.

4.

2.5

12.9

1.6

:

29.7

47.5

1.2

50.0

:

44.5

5.9

:

52.

9.6

:

6.8

5.4

:

.2

4.7

:

:

1.7

11.7

5.5

5.0

notes: 1)	Social	benefits	are	classified	in	the	following	eight	functions:	Sickness/health	
care,	Disability,	Old	age,	Survivors,	Family/children,	Unemployment,	Housing	and	
Social	exclusion	not	elsewhere	classified	(n.e.c.).	The	above	table	has	regrouped	the	
data	into	4	broad	categories.	The	figures	do	not	add	up	to	100	as	benefits	for	housing	
and	social	exclusion	(n.e.c.)	have	not	been	included	in	the	table.	2)	CY:	2002.

88

2006_3908new.indd   88

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Social protection

Graph 5.2: Social benefits by groups of functions as a percentage
 of total benefits, EU-25, 2003 

Old age and 
survivors
45.7 % 

Family and 
children
8.0 % 

Unemployment
6.6 %

Other
3.4 %

Sickness,
health care and 
disability
36.3 % 

The old-age and survivors functions account for the 
major part of benefits

In	 most	 Member	 States,	 old-age	 and	 survivors	 benefits	 make	 up	 the	 largest	
item	of	social	protection	expenditure	(EU-wide,	it	amounted	to	45.7	%	of	total	
benefits	in	200).	This	was	especially	true	of	Italy,	where	nearly	62	%	of	total	
benefits	were	devoted	to	these	functions.	Ireland,	with	the	youngest	population	
in	the	EU,	spent	the	largest	percentage	(41.8	%)	on	sickness	and	health	care.	
Within	the	EU,	the	share	of	expenditure	on	families	and	children	ranged	from	
less	than		%	in	Spain to	almost	18	%	in	Luxembourg.	For	unemployment,	the	
lowest	 share	 was	 less	 than	 2	%	 in	 Italy	 and	 in	 Latvia	 and	 the	 highest	 more	
than	1	%	in	Spain.

The	structure	of	benefits	is	relatively	stable	over	time,	though	for	EU-25	as	a	
whole	a	number	of	changes	can	be	identified	between	2000	and	200.	Over	
this	period	the	share	of	the	“sickness/health	care”	function	grew	in	most	of	the	
European	 countries.	At	 the	 same	 time	 the	 share	 of	 expenditure	 on	 old-age	
related	benefits	decreased	significantly.

Further reading:	“Social	Protection	expenditure	and	receipts	1995-200”,	2006.	Statistics	
in	Focus	(Population	and	Social	Conditions):	“Social	Protection	in	the	European	Union”,	No	
14/2005.	“ESSPROS	Manual”,	1996.	Eurostat.	“The	Social	Situation	in	the	European	Union	
2004”,	 European	 Commission.	 Eurostat	 Website/Population	 and	 social	 conditions/Living	
conditions	 and	 welfare/Social	 protection/	 Social	 protection	 expenditure/Expenditure-Sum-
mary	tables.

89

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Social protection

Table 5.3: Social protection receipts by type	(as	a	percentage	
of	total	receipts)

General 
government 
contributions

Employers’ social 
contributions

Social 
contributions 
paid by protected 
persons

other receipts

1995

2003

1995

2003

1995

2003

1995

2003

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

:

7.0 e

:

8.9 e

:

21.0 e

27.1

26.1

20.7

69.7

28.4

2.8 e

42.5

41.2 e

26.1

22.6 e

25.7 e

48.9

50.1 e

22.1

21.9 e

2.4 p

5.6

50.9 p

24.5

24.5 p

6.0

10.2

9.7

1.8

20.7

4.6 p

40.4

6. p

28.7

27.5 p

:

20.1 p

:

79.2 p

:

0.6 p

:

4.

2.9

1.2

6.

2.6

:

29.6 e

7.4

7.5 e

2.5

2.5 e

10.0

28.4 p

50.0

52. p

17.1

16.4 p

29.7 p

47.4

46.1 p

27.5

20.9 p

61.7 p

22.

22.8 p

14.0

1.9 p

9.8 p

50.

4.7 p

17.

14.9 p

:

:

:

48.4 p

28.9 p

8.8 p

:

:

:

10. p

52.1 p

54.6 p

:

:

:

26.6 p

19.0 p

6.1 p

47.0

44.5 p

25.9

27. p

21.9

24.2 p

5.2

4.8

29.4

:

45.5

4.5

46.5

:

18.7

14.9

20.7

:

.4

19.4 p

21.0

2.8 p

42.8

4.7 p

19.2

1.1 p

4.5

8.4

7.6

26.0

26.2

0.9

1.7

:

50.1 p

:

26.5 p

:

2.0 p

:

1.9

40.0 p

5.9

.4 p

17.7

16.9 p

14.5

29.0

0.

21.5

62.8

0.0

:

2.

17.1

4.8

:

1.5 p

:

27. p

:

9.9 p

5.5

45.8

49.5

50.5

:

:

:

:

:

0.2 p

46.4

49. p

16.2

19.2 p

44.

.7

9.0

1.7

10.9

48.8 p

7.

40.6 p

5.

8.8 p

49.5

25.4

2.7

2.

16.2

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

61.2

40.8

0.7

1.8

8.2

6.7

:

62.2

19.2

:

55.9

22.7

:

:

28.4

22.6

1.8

:

14.4

0.2

:

:

0.9

0.1

2.8

18.8

16.1

.0 e

. e

2.4 e

1.2 p

6.7

1.7 p

0.1 p

9.4 e

2.8 p

.2 p

1.6 p

1.6 p

14.8 p

:

0.4 p

.9 p

6.9

.4

0. p

9.7 p

1. p

1. p

5.7

1.8 p

1.6

:

:

:

:

:

20.7

:

2.7

.5

0.8

2.

:

:

:

:

1.9

6.9

7.9

0.9

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

notes:1)  Other	receipts	come	from	a	variety	of	sources,	such	as	interest	and	
dividends.	2)	CY:	2002.
Source: Eurostat	-	European	system	of	integrated	social	protection	statistics	
(ESSPROS).

90

2006_3908new.indd   90

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Social protection

Graph 5.3: Social protection receipts by type 
as a percentage of total receipts, EU-25, 2003 

General Government
contributions
37.0 % 

Other receipts
3.0 %

Social contributions paid
protected persons
21.0 %

Employers' social
contributions
38.9 % 

Two main patterns of funding social protection

At	EU	level,	the	main	sources	of	funding	for	the	social	protection	system	are	
social	contributions	(employers	and	protected	persons),	which	accounted	for	
59.9	%	of	total	receipts	in	200,	followed	by	tax-funded	general	government	
contributions	 (7	%).	 The	 EU	 average	 conceals	 considerable	 differences	
between	 the	 Member	 States	 in	 the	 structure	 of	 funding.	 Social	 security	
contributions	are	more	significant	(over	70	%)	in	the	Czech	Republic,	Latvia,	
Estonia	 and	 Belgium.	 In	 contrast,	 Denmark	 and	 Ireland	 finance	 their	 social	
protection	system	largely	from	taxes,	whose	relative	weight	in	total	receipts	is	
over	60	%.	Poland,	Sweden,	the	United	Kingdom	and	Cyprus	(2002	data)	are	
also	heavily	dependent	on	general	government	contributions.	

The	 proportion	 of	 general	 government	 contributions	 in	 total	 funding	 rose	
generally	 between	 2000	 and	 200	 in	 the	 European	 countries.	 The	 largest	
increases	were	observed	in	Poland,	Netherlands	and	Ireland.	Over	the	same	
period,	the	share	of	employers’	social	contributions	remained	quasi	constant	
and	the	share	of	social	contributions	paid	by	protected	persons	decreased	in	
the	EU.

Further reading:	“Social	Protection	expenditure	and	receipts	1995-200”,	2006.	Statistics	
in	Focus	(Population	and	Social	Conditions):	“Social	Protection	in	the	European	Union”,	No	
14/2005.	“ESSPROS	Manual”,	1996.	Eurostat.	“The	Social	Situation	in	the	European	Union	
2004”,	 European	 Commission.	 Eurostat	 Website/Population	 and	 social	 conditions/Living	
conditions	 and	 welfare/Social	 protection/	 Social	 protection	 receipts/Receipts-Summary	
tables.

91

2006_3908new.indd   91

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2006_3908new.indd   92

17-01-2007   10:34:39

6.  

HEaLTH and  
SaFETy

2006_3908new.indd   93

17-01-2007   10:34:40

Health and safety

Table 6.1: Life and health expectancies

Infant mortality 
rate, per 1 000 
live births

Life expectancy 
at birth (years), 
men

Life expectancy 
at birth (years), 
women

Life expectancy 
without disability 
(years), 2003 (1)

1990

2004

1990

2003

1990

2002 men Women

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

9.2

7.6

6.5

10.8

7.5

7.0

12.

9.7

7.6

7.

8.2

8.2

12.9

1.7

10.2

7.

14.8

9.1

7.1

7.8

19.4

11.0

8.

12.0

5.6

6.0

7.9

:

:

4.

.7

4.4

4.1

6.

.9

.5

.9

4.9

4.1

.5

9.4

7.9

.9

6.6

5.9

4.1

4.5

6.8

4.0

.7

6.8

.

.1

71.7 e

72.7

72.7

67.6

72.0

72.0

64.7

74.6

7.

72.8

72.1

7.6

74.1

64.

66.4

72.

65.1

7.7

7.8

72.2

66.7

70.4

69.5

66.6

70.9

74.8

:

:

78.8 e

79.5

:

:

:

:

75.9

79.4

81.7

67.4 e

72.1

75.4

78.7

62.8 p

75.1

77.7

79.9

6.0 e

75.7

78.4

81.4

65.0 e

66.0

74.9

76.9

:

76.5

79.5

81.

66.7 e

76.9

80.

8.6

66.8 e

75.9

80.9

82.9

60.6 e

75.8

77.6

80.7

6.4 e

76.8

80.1

82.5

70.9 e

77.0

78.6

81.4

68.4

65.7

74.6

66.5

76.2

75.0

78.5

75.9

77.7

81.0

:

:

:

68.4

7.7

76.7

5.5 p

76.7

78.1

80.7

65.1 p

76.2

80.9

80.9

61.7 e

75.9

78.8

81.6

66.2 e

70.5

76.

78.8

62.5

:

:

69.2 e

6. p

60.9 e

64.7 e

:

68.4 e

70.2 e

6.9 e

65.4 e

74.4 e

69.6

:

:

:

57.8 p

65.7 p

58.8 e

69.6 e

68.9

74.2

77.4

80.5

59.8 e

61.8 e

72.6

77.4

69.9

75.4

80.4

77.8

:

:

75.1

78.9

81.8

57. e

77.9

80.4

82.5

62.5 e

5. p 72.9

76.2

78.5

80.7

61.5 e

14.8

11.6

10.7

6.1

1.6

1.2

26.9

16.8

68.4

68.6

70.1

66.6

68.9

75.2

71.4

76.0

71.1

74.0

67.8

7.1

:

21.5

:

68.6

:

75.4

79.7

80.5

:

:

5.8

0.0

6.9

6.8

2.8

2.7

.2

4.2

:

7.4

74.0

75.9

78.4

75.9

75.

70.9

82.7

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

77.1

79.8

82.0

66. p

64.2 p

78.0

80.7

8.1

:

:

:

:

56.5 e

62.2 e

60.9 e

:

:

:

:

:

:

notes: The	infant	mortality	rate	is	defined	as	the	number	of	infants	who	die	within	
the	first	year	of	life	divided	by	the	number	of	live	births	(per	1	000	live	births).	Life	
expectancy	at	birth	is	the	average	number	of	years	a	person	would	live	if	age-specific	
mortality	rates	observed	for	a	certain	calendar	year	or	period	were	to	continue.		Life	
expectancy	without	disability	is	calculated	by	the	Sullivan	method	and	uses	Eurostat	
mortality	data	and	disability	prevalence	figures.	(1)	CZ,	MT	and	PL:	2002	data.
Source: Eurostat	-	Demographic	Statistics	and	Health	Indicators

94

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Health and safety

Graph 6.1: Life expectancy at birth (years), 
EU-25, 1960-2000

72.6

67.1

74.4

68.0

77.0

70.0

78.8

71.7

80.8

74.4

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

Men

Women

Life expectancy continues to rise 

Over	the	past	50	years,	life	expectancy	of	men	and	women	has	risen	steadily:	
by	around	10	years	in	total	for	each	sex.	Throughout	the	Union,	women	live	
longer	 than	 men	 do.	 In	 2002,	 the	 life	 expectancy	 of	 women	 in	 EU-25	 was	
81.1	years	while	that	for	men	was	74.8	years.	Eurostat	estimates	that	the	life	
expectancy	of	women	and	men,	in	a	baseline	scenario,	may	reach	84.	and	
78.7	years	respectively	by	the	year	2025.	

Progress	in	medical	research	and	care	has	also	led	to	a	dramatic	improvement	
in	the	infant	mortality	rate	for	EU-25	which	has	fallen	from	9.2	deaths	per	1	000	
live	 births	 in	 1990	 to	 4.6	 deaths	 per	 1	000	 live	 births	 in	 200.	 Differences	
between	Member	States	have	diminished	considerably.	

Further reading:	“Key	data	on	health	2002”.	“Demographic	statistics”,	2002	edition.	Euro-
stat.	“The	Social	Situation	in	the	European	Union	2004”.	European	Commission.	Health	in	
Europe.	Data	1998-200.	Eurostat.	Eurostat	Free	Data:	Population	and	Social	conditions	
–	Population	–	Demography

95

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Health and safety

Table 6.2: Perceived health

Percentage of population  
aged 16 and over who feel  
that their health is bad or  
very bad, by sex

Percentage of population  
aged 65 and over who feel  
that their health is bad or  
very bad, by sex

Total

male

Female

Total

male

Female

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

:

:

.8

9.0

6.2

18.9

10.8

9.

8.9

8.0

1.9

7.

5.2

14.1

8.8

:

18.1

.5

4.4

7.1

21.8

19.4

12.7

10.8

11.1

6.8

9.5

1.7

:

:

10.4

:

.9

:

6.5

.4

:

:

.4

7.1

5.

15.9

9.0

8.

6.7

6.7

2.2

5.5

4.4

10.5

9.0

:

14.1

.4

4.

5.8

19.5

16.5

10.2

10.2

12.2

5.7

7.6

12.0

:

:

8.2

:

.0

:

4.9

.1

:

:

4.2

10.8

7.1

21.7

12.4

10.2

10.8

9.2

1.7

8.9

6.0

17.

8.7

:

:

:

10.2

2.5

17.6

5.5

0.1

25.9

21.2

18.1

5.7

22.

14.6

8.6

46.6

:

21.6

6.2

.6

4.5

8.2

2.5

22.2

15.0

11.

10.0

7.7

11.1

15.2

:

:

8.5

8.1

22.1

5.9

54.6

4.7

25.0

16.0

12.6

15.7

.6

:

:

9.7

16.5

18.2

29.0

28.2

24.1

15.

15.8

6.5

18.2

10.0

2.9

8.1

:

28.

7.1

9.5

17.6

47.6

49.9

1.9

16.7

17.1

10.6

12.8

0.5

:

:

12.4

0.

25.4

:

4.7

:

8.1

.8

:

8.

:

1.8

6.6

:

2.8

:

9.2

6.0

:

:

10.5

28.0

17.2

40.0

1.2

27.

25.5

19.8

5.

25.2

18.

42.0

50.6

:

40.9

9.

7.0

24.8

57.6

57.8

6.2

50.0

14.9

14.0

17.8

5.8

:

:

.8

:

1.0

:

17.2

7.0

note: Data	on	perceived	health	-	respondents	are	asked	‘How	is	your	health	in	
general?’.	There	are	5	response	categories:	very	bad,	bad,	fair,	good	and	very	good	
(Ireland	and	Iceland	do	not	have	the	category	“very	bad”).	EU-15,	DK,	DE,	FR,	AT,	PT,	
UK:	2001	ECHP	data.	Other:	HIS	data	1996-200	depending	on	the	countries.
Source: Eurostat	-	Health	Status	Statistics

96

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Health and safety

Graph 6.2: Percentage of the population whose perceived health 
is bad or very bad, by age and sex, EU-15, 2001 

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

28.7%

21.8%

16.9%

13.2%

10.5%

9.6%

7.3%

5.3%

3.5%

2.4%

4.3%

3.0%

15-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65+

Men

Women

a quarter of elderly persons claim to be in (very) bad 
health 

EU-15	wide,	11.4	%	of	adults	(aged	16	and	over)	perceived	their	health	to	be	
‘bad’	 or	 ‘very	 bad’	 in	 2001.	 This	 perception	 is	 higher	 in	 the	 case	 of	 women	
(1.2	%)	 than	 for	 men	 (9.4	%).	 60.9	%	 of	 EU-15	 adults	 (64.6	%	 of	 men	 and	
57.4	%	 of	 women)	 feel	 that	 their	 health	 is	 ‘good’	 or	 ‘very	 good’	 while	 the	
remaining	 27.7	%	 of	 EU-15	 adults	 describe	 it	 as	 ‘fair’.	 Citizens	 of	 Poland,	
Portugal,	Germany	and	Hungary	tend	to	be	more	pessimistic	about	their	health	
than	those	in	the	rest	of	countries.	

The	proportion	of	persons	in	the	category	‘(very)	bad’	increases	with	age:	one	
in	 four	 elderly	 people	 (aged	 65	 and	 over)	 described	 their	 health	 as	 such	 in	
2001.	For	all	ages,	women	are	more	likely	than	men	to	perceive	their	health	
as	 ‘(very)	 bad’.	 This	 pattern	 can	 be	 observed	 in	 every	 Member	 State	 with	
minor	exceptions.

Further reading:	“Key	data	on	health	2002”.	“Demographic	statistics”,	2002	edition.	Euro-
stat.	“The	Social	Situation	in	the	European	Union	2004”.	European	Commission.	Health	in	
Europe.	Data	1998-200.	Eurostat.	Eurostat	Free	Data:	Population	and	Social	conditions	
–	Health	–	Public	Health	–	Health	Status

97

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Health and safety

Table 6.3: Selected health problems 1

Percentage of population 
aged 16-64 stating they have a 
long-standing health problem 
or disability, by sex, 2002

Percentage of population aged 
16-64 who declares a severe or 
very severe disability,  
by sex, 2002

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

Total

16.2

:

18.4

20.2

19.9

11.2

2.7

10.

8.7

24.6

11.0

6.6

12.2

:

8.4

11.7

11.4

8.5

25.4

12.8

:

19.9

19.5

8.2

2.2

19.9

27.2

:

:

:

male

Female

Total

male

Female

16.

:

18.9

19.2

18.8

12.2

2.1

9.9

9.4

24.

11.6

7.0

1.4

:

8.

1.7

11.

9.7

24.5

14.0

:

18.

19.9

8.1

0.7

18.2

26.7

:

:

:

16.1

:

17.9

21.2

21.1

10.

24.2

10.6

8.0

24.8

10.5

6.

11.1

:

8.5

9.6

11.4

7.

26.4

11.6

:

21.5

19.1

8.2

.6

21.7

27.8

:

:

:

7.9

:

6.2

10.9

10.

7.9

7.7

4.8

5.8

9.

6.8

4.1

8.2

:

6.7

4.

7.9

6.4

10.5

8.6

8.5

7. u

5.0

6.4

8.6

7.5

4.1

8.9

:

6.6

5.2

10.9

10.8

5.1

6.

6.0

:

1.5

14.9

7.0

15.2

6.

10.6

:

:

:

5.8

5.

6.4

:

12.4

15.0

6.9

14.8

4.9

11.2

:

:

:

7.8

:

6.0

11.4

12.1

7.

8.0

4.5

5.4

9.9

6.1

4.1

7.4

:

6.8

.6

10.8

4.4 u

7.1

5.8

:

14.5

14.6

7.0

15.6

7.8

9.9

:

:

:

5.8

5.0

6.5

4.4

.7

5.1

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

:

16.4

:

15.5

:

17.4

14.8

1.8 u

15.6 u

:

:

:

:

note: The	disability	severity	is	constructed	from	the	combination	of	the	three	variables	
on	how	disabled	people	were	restricted	regarding	(1)	the	kind	of	work	and	(2)	the	
amount	of	work	that	can	be	done,	and	()	mobility	to	and	from	work.	Possible	replies	
were	“Yes,	considerably”,	“Yes,	to	some	extent”	and	“No”.	Severe	disability	applies	
to	respondents	who	replied	“considerably”	or	“to	some	extent”	to	two	of	the	three	
questions.
Source: Eurostat	-	Health	Status	Statistics

98

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Health and safety

Graph 6.3: Percentage of EU-25 population stating to have 
a long-term health problem or disability, by age, 2002 

ALL

3.4%

16.2%

60-64

55-59

50-54

45-49

40-44

7.1%

8.0%

5.8%

3.9%

2.9%

15.1%

12.3%

10.4%

9.0%

35-39

2.1%

30-24

1.7%

25-29

1.4%

16-24

0.9%

7.3%

31.4%

30.0%

24.2%

18.2%

Very severe

Any

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Prevalence of long-standing health problem and 
disability

EU-wide,	16.2	%	of	the	population	16-64	state	that	they	have	a	long-standing	
health	 problem	 or	 disability	 (LSHPD).	 Within	 most	 countries,	 the	 prevalence	
of	LSHPD	among	women	tends	to	be	similar	to	the	one	for	men.	A	severe	or	
very	severe	LSHPD	is	declared	by	7.9	%	of	those	persons	aged	between	16	
and	64	years.

Further  reading:	 Statistics	 in	 Focus	 (Population	 and	 social	 conditions):	 “Employment	 of	
disabled	people	in	Europe	in	2002”.	Health	in	Europe.	Data	1998-200.	Eurostat.	Eurostat	
Free	Data:	Population	and	Social	conditions	–	Health	–	Public	Health	–	Health	Status

99

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Health and safety

Table 6.4 Selected health problems 2

year HIV 
reporting 
started

number of newly 
diagnosed HIV infections 
by year of report

1996

2004

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

:

:

1986

1985

1990

199

1988

1999

1999

200

1985

1985

:

1987

1988

1999

1985

2004

2002

1998

1985

198

1986

1985

1986

1985

1984

1987

1986

:

1992

1985

1985

:

1986

1985

:

:

	719

	50

	269

1	967

	8

	449

:

:

	98

:

:

	2

	12

	25

	62

:

:

:

	551

:

	9

	4

	69

	224

	09

	4

	1

:

	699

	119

	6

:

	107

	929

:

:

	984

	76

	292

1	979

	74

	44

:

2	697

	56

:

:

	2

	15

	60

	71

	17

1	169

	470

	656

2	825

	25

	15

	128

	426

7	258

	6

	55

:

	29

	210

	5

:

	225

	779

Cancer incidence 
(all sites except non-
melanoma skin) per 
100 000 population 
(European age 
standardised rate), 2002

male

11.2

:

47.4

0.9

277.2

17.7

298.0

24.9

07.6

41.8

27.6

21.

199.7

27.5

261.4

9.2

86.8

241.7

14.6

12.9

01.8

284.6

285.9

19.0

264.1

277.5

286.6

206.5

5.1

:

216.4

:

288.4

:

11.5

29.1

Female

22.4

:

245.0

247.6

285.5

248.9

208.7

171.1

179.1

27.2

24.9

21.7

186.4

174.6

18.8

254.2

250.7

21.

251.4

28.1

210.

191.1

220.5

206.9

227.9

251.8

260.6

167.6

29.0

:

16.4

:

284.5

:

260.5

240.1

note: HIV	infections:	A	case	of	HIV	infection	is	defined	as	an	individual	with	HIV	infection	
confirmed	by	laboratory	according	to	country	definitions	and	requirements,	diagnosed	at	
any	clinical	stage	including	AIDS,	and	not	yet	previously	reported	in	that	country.	EL,	LU:	
retrospective	reporting;	ES,	IT:	reporting	exists	only	for	some	regions;	data	not	shown;	
FR:	new	HIV	reporting	system,	data	March	200-June	2004;	PT:	HIV	reporting	system	
modified	in	2002;	BG,	NO:	200
Source: EuroHIV:	the	European	HIV/AIDS	surveillance	network	covering	the	52	
countries	of	the	World	Health	Organisation	(WHO)	European	Region.	EuroHIV	is	also	a	
WHO	and	UNAIDS	collaborating	centre;	IARC	for	cancer.

100

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Health and safety

Graph 6.4: Cancer incidence (all sites except non-melanoma skin)
 per 100 000 population (European age standardised rate), 2002 

EU-25

Belgium
Czech Republic

Denmark

Germany

Estonia

Greece
Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

Cyprus
Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Hungary

Malta
Netherlands

Austria

Poland

Portugal

Slovenia
Slovakia

Finland

Sweden

United

Bulgaria
Croatia

FYROM

Romania

Turkey

Iceland
Liechtenstein

Norway

Switzerland

Women

Men

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Some severe diseases

For	the	17	EU	countries	with	data	available	for	1996	and	2004,	the	number	of	
newly	reported	HIV	infections	increased	by	almost	64	%	from	1996	(9	56	new	
infections	reported)	to	2004	(15	591	infections),	with	the	most	drastic	increases	
in	the	number	of	new	HIV	diagnoses	observed	in	the	Baltic	countries	(Estonia,	
Latvia,	 Lithuania).	 Reporting	 on	 HIV	 infections	 is	 still	 incomplete:	 some	 of	
the	countries	do	not	yet	have	a	national	reporting	system,	and	even	where	a	
reporting	system	exists,	not	all	prevalent	HIV	infections	have	been	diagnosed	
and	 reported.	 Furthermore,	 countries	 implemented	 HIV	 reporting	 at	 different	
dates	and	retrospective	reporting	is	not	systematically	included.	Existing	data	
on	HIV	reporting	still	considerably	underestimate	the	real	situation.	Any	figures	
on	HIV	infections	should	therefore	be	interpreted	with	caution.

The	 age-standardised	 European	 population	 incidence	 rate	 per	 100	000	 in	
the	 EU	 in	 2002	 for	 all	 cancers	 combined	 was	 11.2	 for	 men	 and	 22.4	 for	
women,	 resulting	 in	 an	 age-adjusted	 sex	 ratio	 of	 1..	 The	 cancer	 incidence	
rate	has	risen	across	EU-25	both	for	men	and	women.	The	rise	in	the	EU-25	
from	1995	to	2002	was	12.1	%	for	men	and	1.7	%	for	women.	Cancer	occurs	
more	 commonly	 in	 males	 than	 females	 in	 almost	 all	 countries.	 The	 gender	
differences	 vary	 significantly	 between	 countries.	 The	 highest	 incidence	 for	
men	was	found	in	Hungary	with	a	rate	of	87	and	the	lowest	in	Cyprus	(200)	
in	2002.	Cancer	occurs	more	commonly	for	men	than	women.	In	Spain	women	
have	 a	 41	%	 lower	 cancer	 incidence	 rate	 than	 men,	 whereas	 in	 Iceland	 the	
difference	is	only	1.4	%.

Further reading:	“Key	data	on	health	2002”.	“Demographic	statistics”,	2002	edition.	Euro-
stat.	“The	Social	Situation	in	the	European	Union	2004”.	European	Commission.	Health	in	
Europe.	Data	1998-200.	Eurostat.

101

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Health and safety

Table 6.5: accidents at work:  
Index of the number of accidents per 100 000 persons in 
employment (Index 1998=100)

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

1999

100

99

96

9

95

99

106

9

107

101

2000

2001

2002

2003

99

97

82 b

91

89

96

105

88

108

102

95

92

8

91

90

88

12

86

106

98

88

84

72

89

82

82

125

8

10

99

8

79

68

80

76

74

128

71

100

95

:	 i

:	 i

:	 i

:	 i

:	 i

99

100

75

97

105

9

11

108 b

99

78

92

102

92

91

107

106

84

:

:

100

84

:

:

91

:

99

112

66

94

104

94

77

105

92

85

88

98

88

89

111

106

100 b

:

:

106

85

:

:

94

:

92

112

116

85

97

86

94

92

8

78

91

94

84

87 b

11

110

90

:

:

11

90

:

:

82

:

8

92

108

86

109

84

91

100 b

84

76

74

94

77

85

101

108

84

:

:

104

84

:

:

74

:

80

10

84

82

107

8

90

82

79

82

:

98

68

8

94

107

8

:

:

111

8

:

:

68

:

note: Ireland:	data	are	not	comparable	over	the	years
Source: Eurostat	-	health	and	safety	at	work	-	accidents	at	work

102

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Health and safety

Graph 6.5: Accidents at work by type of activity, EU-15, 2003

Construction

Agriculture, hunting
and forestry

Transport, storage and
communication

Manufacturing

6 502

5 043

3 720

3 713

Hotels and restaurants

3 217

Wholesale and retail trade;
repairs

Electricity, gas and
water supply

Financial intermediation;
real estate, renting
and business activities

2 299

1 805

1 657

0

2 000

4 000

6 000

8 000

per 100 000 employed persons

around 3 % of EU-15 workers were the victims of a 
working accident in 2003 

According	to	the	European	Statistics	on	Accidents	at	Work	(ESAW),	about	4.2	
million	accidents	at	work	resulting	in	more	than		days	of	absence	from	work	
occurred	 in	 the	 EU-15	 in	 200.	This	 means	 that	 about	 .	%	 of	 the	 working	
population	experienced	such	an	accident	during	the	year	(	4	accidents	per	
100	000	workers).

The	 incidence	 of	 accidents	 varies	 considerably	 depending	 on	 the	 economic	
activity	 of	 the	 enterprise,	 and	 the	 age	 and	 sex	 of	 workers.	 The	 construction	
industry	(6.5	%)	has	the	highest	incidence	of	accidents.	The	incidence	of	non-
fatal	 accidents	 decreases	 with	 age	 in	 most	 Member	 States.	 In	 contrast,	 the	
frequency	of	fatal	accidents	increases	considerably	with	age.

The	 10	 Member	 States,	 which	 acceded	 the	 EU	 on	 1.5.2004,	 have	 not	 yet	
implemented	 the	 full	 ESAW	 methodology,	 but	 an	 annual	 index	 is,	 however,	
already	calculated	to	show	the	broad	development	over	time.	The	base	year	
for	this	index	is	1998,	meaning	that	the	index	value	of	1998	equals	100.	For	
most	countries	this	incidence	rate	is	decreasing.	At	EU-25	level	the	number	of	
non-fatal	accidents	will	have	fallen	by	17	%	in	6	years’	time.

Further reading:	“Work	and	Health	in	the	EU	–	A	statistical	portrait”.	Eurostat	200.	Euro-
pean	 social	 statistics	 –	 “Accidents	 at	 work	 and	 work-related	 health	 problems	 1994-2000”	
Eurostat	 2002.	 “Statistical	 analysis	 of	 socio-economic	 costs	 of	 accidents	 at	 work	 in	 the	
European	 Union”.	 Eurostat	 2004.”European	 Statistics	 on	 Accidents	 at	 Work	 -	 Methodol-
ogy”,	2001	Edition.	European	Social	Statistics:	“Accidents	at	work	and	work-related	health	
problems	1994-2000”	Eurostat	2002.	“Third	European	Survey	of	working	conditions	2000”,	
2001.	European	Foundation	for	the	Improvement	of	Living	and	Working	Conditions.	Free	
Data	Database	Theme		-	Population	and	social	conditions,	Domain	-	Health.

10

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Health and safety

Table 6.6: major causes of death

Standardised death rates (Sdrs) per 100 000 population, 2004

men

women

y
r
o
t
a
l
u
c
r
i
C

s
e
s
a
e
s
i
d

r
e
c
n
a
C

EU-25

5.0 255.8

Euro area 287. 24.7

r
e
c
n
a
c

g
n
u
L

72.8

69.0

f
o

s
e
s
u
a
c

d
n
a

y
r
u
n

j

i

i

g
n
n
o
s
i
o
p

l
a
n
r
e
t
x
E

y
r
o
t
a
l
u
c
r
i
C

s
e
s
a
e
s
i
d

r
e
c
n
a
C

t
s
a
e
r
b

r
e
c
n
a
c

f
o

s
e
s
u
a
c

d
n
a

y
r
u
n

j

i

i

g
n
n
o
s
i
o
p

l
a
n
r
e
t
x
E

68.0 221.2 144.1

60.1 192. 11.

09.4 288. 107.0

77.6 196.1 149.

50.5 1.5

21.6 25.1

15.1 219.

75.8 296.7

4.8 219.0

210.8 240.0

208.4 258.1

00.2 228.5

274.0 29.6

29.5 164.0

795.5 290.9

692.5 291.2

290.8 25.2

86.8

67.1

58.6

98.0

76.4

7.6

67.5

55.0

7.2

40.9

87.9

8.6

64.

88.9 56.9 172.0

6.4 195.2 197.

46.6 218.5 15.4

228.7 427.2 18.1

51.7 284.8

114.8

50.1 140.9 105.6

77.5 125. 12.4

42.5 18.7 157.

49.8 179. 129.1

60.7 191.5

90.8

225.8 465.2 140.1

247.9 416.5 18.8

64.0 189.1

115.0

618.5 67.1 12.4

117.5 9.6 187.8

294.4 189.0

252.7 244.0

296.7 22.6

54.9

75.9

54.6

2.7 221.8 125.6

6.8 155.8 156.1

65.9 208. 15.5

509.0 02.5 105.0

101.8 1.7 154.9

271. 216.2

52.0 279.0

678.0 28.8

5.0 188.9

298.9 186.

01.8 224.4

84.0 208.8

590.4 06.

672.8 206.

80.1 27.0

:

:

48.0

81.8

92.7

47.0

2.0

56.9

66.0

96.9

68.0

7.9

:

70.5 194.

110.7

98.5 220.8 147.1

97.1 448.2 154.6

108. 182.4

116.2

55.4 18.5 15.5

40.2 19. 158.9

72.7 561.5

115.4

8.2 404.0 149.6

56.4 557.4 121.1

101.4 586.7 12.1

:

:

:

26.7

25.8

4.9

27.5

6.1

26.8

24.2

22.8

19.2

25.8

0.6

24.9

21.6

2.8

24.1

21.6

0.6

24.2

0.6

24.5

20.8

19.7

26.

26.8

21.0

22.

29.

20.8

25.

25.2

22.9

:

280.0 180.7

7.1

48.1 146.8 147.4

26.6

:

:

254.7 207.2

215.6 19.

:

47.1

47.4

:

:

:

6.8 159.2 142.4

5.4 140.9

118.1

:

22.

25.0

24.8

2.

2.7

4.0

29.5

18.5

49.5

14.4

16.8

.5

16.1

19.

20.9

62.9

54.

26.6

41.8

21.9

18.7

22.0

25.6

21.2

.6

20.8

8.

22.9

17.2

19.7

29.5

18.8

27.7

:

22.5

:

0.0

2.4

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

notes: Circulatory	diseases:	ICD-10	I00-I99;	Cancer:	ICD-10	C00-C97;	Lung	cancer	
including	larynx,	trachea,	bronchus:	ICD-10	C2-C4;	Breast	cancer:	ICD-10	C50;	
External	causes	of	injury	and	poisoning:	ICD-10	V01-Y89.		BE:	1997;	DK,	SK	:	2001;	
IT,	HR:	2002;	EU25,	Euro	area,	EE,	FR,	LV,	SE,	UK,	RO:	200.
Source: Eurostat	-	Causes	of	death	statistics

104

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Health and safety

Graph 6.6: Major causes of death by age group, EU-25, total, 2004

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

24.0

4.4

27.5

20.0

6.6

35.5

36.2

3.1

23.0

37.7

44.0

38.0

21.7

8.7

44.8

24.8

26.5

10.2

Others

Respiratory diseases 

Circulatory diseases 

51.4

Cancer

11.9

55.8

2.5

17.2

24.5

74.4

83.6

2.3

9.6

13.7

2.0
5.2

9.2

15-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65-74

75-84

85+

Notes:  BE: 1997; DK, SK : 2001; IT, HR: 2002; EE, FR, LV, SE, UK, RO: 2003
Source:  Eurostat - Causes of death statistics

major causes of death in EU-25

In	 general,	 mortality	 is	 higher	 among	 men	 than	 women	 in	 all	 age	 groups.	
Although	there	are	signs	that	the	mortality	gap	is	narrowing	in	some	Member	
States,	 the	 difference	 nevertheless	 warrants	 looking	 at	 women	 and	 men	
separately.	 Circulatory	 diseases	 continue	 to	 be	 the	 major	 cause	 of	 death	 in	
2004,	accounting	for	40	%	of	all	deaths	in	EU-25.	It	is	the	most	frequent	cause	
of	death	both	for	men	and	women	in	EU-25,	responsible	for	7	%	of	deaths	for	
men	and	44	%	for	women.	The	second	most	frequent	cause	of	death	is	cancer	
making	up	for	a	quarter	of	all	deaths	in	2004	(29	%	of	deaths	for	men	and	2	%	
for	women).	Amongst	the	cancers,	lung	cancer	(including	malignant	neoplasm	
of	larynx,	trachea	and	bronchus)	is	the	most	common	cause	of	death	for	men	
(28	%	of	all	deaths	due	to	cancer)	while	for	women	it	is	breast	cancer	(17	%	
of	all	deaths	due	to	cancer).	Considering	all	ages,	diseases	of	the	respiratory	
system	 (excluding	 cancers)	 are	 the	 rd	 most	 frequent	 cause	 of	 death	 (7	%	
of	 all	 deaths).	 However,	 as	 shown	 in	 the	 chart,	 the	 relative	 weight	 of	 these	
major	causes	varies	for	the	different	age	groups.	Circulatory	diseases	play	a	
minor	role	for	deaths	in	young	age	groups	and	are	most	prominent	in	the	old	
age	groups.	Cancer	mainly	affects	the	middle	age	classes.	In	the	age	group	
5-44,	cancers	are	responsible	for	around	a	quarter	of	all	deaths,	and	in	the	
age	group	55-64	they	account	for	almost	45	%	of	deaths.	In	the	following	age	
groups,	this	percentage	continuously	decreases.

methodological note:	Total	numbers	are	influenced	by	the	population	structure:	in	a	rela-
tively	“old”	population,	there	will	be	more	deaths	than	in	a	“young”	one.	Standardised	Death	
Rates	(SDRs)	as	shown	in	the	table	take	into	account	differences	in	population	structure	by	
using	a	European	standard	population.	SDRs	therefore	allow	direct	comparisons	between	
countries.	

Further reading:	“Atlas	of	Mortality	in	the	EU”,	200	edition.		“Key	data	on	health	2002”.	
SIF	“Causes	of	death	in	the	EU”	(10/2006).	“Demographic	Statistics”,	2002	edition.	Euro-
stat.	NewCronos	Database	Theme		–	Health	–	Public	Health.

105

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Health and safety

Table 6.7: Transport accident deaths

Transport accident deaths, total 
number, 2004

Percentage of transport 
accident deaths of all 
deaths in the age group  
15-34

men

women

men

women

EU-25

Euro area

bE

CZ

dK

dE

EE

EL

ES

Fr

IE

IT

Cy

LV

LT

LU

HU

mT

nL

aT

PL

PT

SI

SK

FI

SE

UK

bG

Hr

mK

ro

Tr

IS

LI

no

CH

total

49	522

2	828

1	51

1	16

	468

6	087

	20

1	984

5	287

6	49

	268

7	05

	128

	552

	86

	54

7	754

24	976

1	117

	981

	44

4	48

	154

1	54

4	087

4	811

	205

5	71

	107

	407

	67

	9

1	65

1	249

	16

	878

	862

6	99

1	760

	07

	80

	481

	550

	1

	627

	656

4	971

1	85

	248

	654

	46

	420

	555

2	664

	984

	674

	142

	748

	540

	118

	269

2	492

:

	24

:

	58

	51

:

	17

:

	271

	401

11	768

7	852

	96

	5

	124

1	649

	49

	450

1	200

1	58

	6

1	574

	21

	145

	190

	15

	86

	

	251

	206

1	428

	75

	59

	176

	15

	10

	891

	26

	14

	24

	777

:

	7

:

	87

	112

41.

42.9

46.4

42.7

8.4

41.

28.6

42.

41.5

46.0

50.7

4.9

42.1

41.5

8.6

56.4

2.7

5.8

8.4

8.9

5.0

40.7

6.7

6.7

29.8

6.7

45.5

5.0

8.9

29.7

29.7

:

5.

:

9.1

8.9

29.8

0.4

.

0.4

29.0

0.2

24.5

27.1

2.6

29.

28.6

1.1

.

1.0

21.1

.

24.6

0.0

25.9

.5

27.9

28.8

0.5

0.1

28.9

5.4

1.0

2.7

.6

.

24.8

:

0.0

:

.

2.2

notes: BE:	1997;	DK,	SK:	2001;	IT:	2002;	FR,	LV,	SE,	RO:	200.
Source: Eurostat	-	Causes	of	death	statistics

106

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Health and safety

Graph 6.7: Number of transport accident deaths 
by age group, EU-25, 2004

10 000

9 000

8 000

7 000

6 000

5 000

4 000

3 000

2 000

1 000

0

8 158

7 473

Men

Women

5 917

5 025

3 675

3 379

3 251

2 276

1 621

1 425

1 218

1 336

1 209

2 089

 983

 615

0-14

15-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-64

65-74

75+

Notes:  BE: 1997; DK, SK: 2001; IT: 2002; FR, LV, SE, RO: 2003
Source:  Eurostat - Causes of death statistics

more than 49 500 deaths in transport accidents in EU-25

Amongst	the	external	causes	of	death,	transport	accidents	(which	include	road	
transport)	play	a	prominent	role.	Around	7	750	men	died	in	transport	accidents	
in	2004;	that	is	about	2	%	of	all	deaths.	With	no	more	than	0.5	%	of	all	deaths,	
transport	accidents	play	a	less	prominent	role	for	women.	This	cause	of	death	
is	particularly	prominent	for	younger	men:	In	the	age	group	15-4	over	40	%	
of	deaths	are	due	to	transport	accidents.	Looking	at	women	in	the	same	age	
group,	around	0	%	of	all	deaths	are	due	to	transport	accidents.	Within	EU-25,	
Luxembourg,	Malta	and	Ireland	show	the	highest	shares	for	men	–	more	than	
half	of	the	dead	men	in	the	age	group	15-4	died	due	to	transport	accidents,	
compared	to	less	than	0	%	in	Finland	and	Estonia.	For	women,	Sweden	and	
Austria	show	the	highest	proportions	(just	above	one	third).

The	number	of	transport	deaths	decreased	by	around	14	%	compared	to	1999.	
While	 most	 of	 the	 EU-25	 countries	 show	 this	 improvement,	 the	 number	 of	
transport	deaths	increased	in	Hungary,	Malta	and	Portugal.

Further  reading:	 “Atlas	 of	 Mortality	 in	 the	 EU”,	 200	 edition,	 “Key	 data	 on	 health	 2002”,	
“Causes	 of	 death	 in	 the	 EU”	 (Eurostat	 SiF	 Population	 and	 Social	 Conditions	 10/2006).	
“Passenger	transport	in	the	European	Union”	(Eurostat	SiF	Transport,	9/2006).	NewCronos	
Database	Theme		–	Health	–	Public	Health.

107

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2006_3908new.indd   109

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European Commission

Living conditions in Europe — Data 2002-2005

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

2007 — 107 pp. — 21 x 10.5 cm

Theme: Population and social conditions
Collection: Pocketbooks

ISBN 92-79-03262-3
ISSN 1725-5988

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2006_3908new.indd   112

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