Key figures on the enlargement countries : 2017 edition.
Date: 2017-07-31
Institutions: Eurostat
Subjects: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Iceland, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, agricultural statistics, digital technology, economic statistics, education statistics, employment statistics, energy market, enlargement of the Union, environmental statistics, financial statistics, living conditions, population statistics, research and development, trade statistics, transport statistics

Key figures on 
enlargement countries

2017 edition

s t a t i s t i c a l 
b o o k s

Key figures on 
enlargement countries

2017 edition

Manuscript completed in July 2017

corrected second edition

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isbN 978-92-79-70772-8
issN 2315-1943
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Abstract

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition
The 2017 edition of Key figures on enlargement countries presents updated series of key statistical data 
for five candidate countries and two potential candidates, as well as data for the EU‑28. The candidate 
countries, at the time of writing were Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
Albania, Serbia and Turkey, while the potential candidates were Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo 
(this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ 
Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence).

The tables, figures and associated commentary and methodological notes concern key social, 
economic and environmental themes for which data are collected annually from the enlargement 
countries through a series of harmonised questionnaires or as part of Eurostat’s regular collection 
of data on demography, national accounts, energy and international trade. Most tables and figures 
in the publication are followed by data codes, which link directly to the associated tables within 
Eurostat’s free dissemination database (Eurobase): those codes beginning cpc contain data just for the 
enlargement countries; the other codes generally contain data for the EU‑28 aggregate (as well as, in 
most cases, data for the individual EU Member States and EFTA countries) and in some cases for some 
or all of the enlargement countries.

Director of Directorate A
Pieter Everaers

Head of Unit A3
Claudia Junker

Editor
Torbiörn Carlquist

Contact details
Eurostat Unit A3 
Statistical Office of the European Union 
Joseph Bech Building 
5, rue Alphonse Weicker 
2721 Luxembourg 
E‑mail: ESTAT‑STATISTICAL‑COOPERATION@ec.europa.eu

Production and desktop publishing
INFORMA s.à r.l. 
Giovanni Albertone, Simon Allen, Andrew Redpath

Data extracted
October 2016

3

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This publication would not have been possible without the cooperation and goodwill of a large 
number of people working in the national statistical authorities (statistical offices, central banks, 
finance and other ministries) of the enlargement countries.

Montenegro

Statistical Office of Montenegro

http://www.monstat.org/eng/

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

State Statistical Office 

http://www.stat.gov.mk/Default_en.aspx

Albania

Institute of Statistics 

http://www.instat.gov.al/en/home.aspx

Serbia

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia 

http://webrzs.stat.gov.rs/WebSite/

Turkey

Turkish Statistical Institute 

http://www.turkstat.gov.tr/

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina

http://www.bhas.ba/index.php?lang=en

Kosovo

Kosovo Agency of Statistics 

http://ask.rks‑gov.net/en/

4

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionContents

Contents 

Introduction 

1. Population 

2. Living conditions 

3. Education and training 

4. Labour market 

5. Economy and finance 

6. International trade in goods 

7. Agriculture, forestry and fishing 

8. Business 

9. Science, technology and digital society 

10. Transport 

11. Energy 

12. Environment 

Contents

5

7

13

23

29

35

47

61

69

77

85

95

103

111

5

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  Introduction

Introduction

Policy background

The European Union’s (EU’s) enlargement policy 
concerns the EU’s relations with those countries 
which aspire to become EU Member States. There 
are strict conditions for membership of the EU, 
whereby new members are only admitted when 
they have clearly demonstrated they are capable 
of assuming all of the obligations that are linked 
to membership. Indeed, there are 35 different 
policy chapters, which together define all of the 
standards and rules (the so‑called ‘acquis’) that 
are associated with EU membership. Some of the 
most important policies relate to the rule of law, 
freedom of expression and media, civil society, 
regional cooperation and economic governance.

The Instrument for Pre‑accession Assistance 
(IPA) is the means by which the EU supports 
reforms in the enlargement countries. IPA funds 
may be seen as an investment in the future of 
both the enlargement countries and the EU 
itself. They help the beneficiaries make political 
and economic reforms, which should provide 
their citizens with better opportunities. These 
funds also help the EU towards some of its own 
objectives, for example concerning a sustainable 
economic recovery, energy supply, transport, the 
environment and climate change. The current 
IPA framework for pre‑accession assistance 
covers the period from 2014–2020 and has a 
dedicated budget of EUR 11.7 billion.

For more information about the conditions for membership of the EU, see:  
http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/policy/conditions-membership/index_en.htm

For more information on the EU’s enlargement strategy, see: http://ec.europa.eu/
neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/pdf/key_documents/2016/ 
20161109_strategy_paper_en.pdf

For more information about the current status of enlargement countries, see:  
http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/check-current-status/index_en.htm

For more information on the EU’s enlargement package — strategy and reports are 
available at: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/countries/package/index_en.htm

Statistical cooperation

Among the EU Member States, statistics are 
coordinated by Eurostat, the statistical office of 
the EU, through the European statistical system 
(ESS). The ESS is based on the harmonisation of 
statistical concepts, methodologies, definitions 
and methods which enable the collection of 
reliable, robust and comparable statistics among 
EU Member States, EFTA and enlargement 
countries.

Eurostat shares its expertise with non‑member 
countries within the framework of international 

statistical cooperation activities — supporting, 
upgrading and enhancing the statistical 
systems of these non‑member countries. The 
beneficiaries of this support include:

•	EU enlargement countries (candidate countries 

and potential candidates);

•	European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) 

countries

•	in the ENP‑East area;
•	and in the ENP‑South area;

•	African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries;
•	Asian countries;
•	Latin American countries.

For more information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/
Statistical_cooperation_-_introduction

8

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionStatiStical cooperation with 
the enlargement countrieS

Reliable and comparable statistics are a 
precondition for a successful accession process. 
The EU acquis in the field of statistics requires 
the existence of a statistical infrastructure based 
on principles such as professional independence, 
objectivity, impartiality, commitment to 
quality, reliability, transparency, confidentiality 
of individual data and equal access to official 
statistical data for all users. The EU acquis 
also covers methodology, classifications 
and procedures for data collection. Little 
transposition into national legislation is needed 
as the majority of the EU acquis in statistics 
takes the form of regulations which are directly 
applicable in EU Member States.

Official statistics play a triple role in the 
enlargement process:

•	the EU acquis (Chapter 18) defines the 

harmonisation of statistics with EU standards 
and rules which have to be achieved in the pre‑
accession period;

•	they serve other EU policy areas by providing 

data for monitoring changes and assessing the 
impact of policies chosen;

•	they provide statistical indicators for 

monitoring the implementation of the IPA 
programmes.

Introduction

Eurostat monitors the compliance of national 
statistical systems with the EU acquis in the field 
of statistics. Eurostat also provides technical 
assistance and support to national statistical 
authorities and other producers of official 
statistics. Some instruments — statistical 
training courses, traineeships, study visits, 
management training, and participation in 
meetings within the ESS — aim to reinforce 
human skills in enlargement countries. In 
addition, Eurostat conducts peer reviews of the 
statistical systems in the enlargement countries.

While basic principles and institutional 
frameworks for producing statistics are already 
in place, the enlargement countries are expected 
to increase the volume and quality of their data 
progressively and to transmit these data to 
Eurostat in the context of the EU’s enlargement 
process. The final objective of the EU in relation 
to official statistics is to obtain harmonised, 
high‑quality data that conforms to both European 
and international standards. Eurostat collects 
data on an annual basis and this exercise also 
provides an opportunity to offer methodological 
recommendations to enlargement countries. 
Eurostat plays a key role in improving transparency 
for the enlargement countries by publishing data, 
both in publications such as this one and through 
its free dissemination database (Eurobase).

For more information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/
Enlargement_policy_and_statistical_cooperation

Reading guide

publication Structure

forestry and fishing; business; science, 
technology and digital society; transport; energy; 
and the environment.

The main body of Key figures on enlargement 
countries — 2017 edition contains tables, figures, 
commentary and explanations structured into 
12 chapters covering statistics on a variety of 
topics: population; living conditions; education 
and training; the labour market; economy and 
finance; international trade in goods; agriculture, 

Spatial coverage

The EU‑28 aggregates that are presented in this 
publication for the purpose of comparison have 
been processed and calculated by Eurostat on 
the basis of information provided by the national 
statistical authorities of the 28 EU Member States. 

9

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  Introduction

Unless otherwise indicated, these data cover the 
28 Member States (as of October 2016) throughout 
the period considered in each table and figure, 
regardless of whether there were 15, 25, 27 or 28 
members of the EU in the reference year concerned. 
In other words, the data have been calculated 
backwards with a stable geographical coverage.

Table	1:	Key indicators, 2015

Table 1 provides an overview of a number 
of key indicators for the EU‑28 and each 
enlargement country: the number of 
inhabitants, the size of each economy (as 
measured by GDP) and the average standard of 
living (as measured by GDP per capita).

Gross domestic product

Population

508 451 
622 
2 069 
2 892 
7 114 
77 696 
3 819 
1 772 

Total 
(EUR billion)
14 693.0 
3.6 
9.1 
10.3 
33.5 
645.4 
14.6 
5.6 

Per capita 
(EUR)
28 800 
5 800 
4 400 
3 600 
4 700 
8 300 
3 800 
3 100 

EU‑28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (1)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)
Kosovo (3)

(1)  Gross domestic product: based on ESA 1995.
(2)  Mid-year population.
(3)  Gross domestic product: 2014.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_pjan, cpc_psdemo, nama_10_gdp, nama_10_pc and nama_gdp_c)

timelineSS

The data presented in this publication were 
collected from the enlargement countries during 
the summer/autumn of 2016. The data for the 
EU‑28 were extracted from Eurobase in October 
2016. As Eurobase is updated regularly, some 
data in this publication may have already been 
revised. The accompanying text was drafted in 
October 2016.

Data SourceS

The data for the enlargement countries are 
supplied by and under the responsibility of the 
national statistical authorities. The publication 
of these data does not constitute the expression 
of an opinion by the European Commission on 
the legal status of a country or territory or on the 
delimitation of its borders.

Data for enlargement countries are collected for 
a wide range of indicators each year through 
a questionnaire that is sent by Eurostat to the 

enlargement countries. A network of contacts in 
each enlargement country has been established 
for updating these questionnaires, generally 
within the national statistical offices, but 
potentially including representatives of other 
national authorities producing official statistics 
(for example, central banks, finance and other 
government ministries). The vast majority of 
the statistics on enlargement countries that are 
included in this publication are freely available 
through the following link: http://ec.europa.
eu/eurostat/web/enlargement‑countries/data/
database.

In several areas the regular collection by Eurostat 
of data has been expanded beyond EU Member 
States and EFTA countries to also include 
enlargement countries. Consequently, in 2016 
it was decided to stop collecting demography 
statistics, national accounts statistics and 
energy statistics through the aforementioned 
questionnaires and instead to use data from 
these regular subject‑specific data transmissions 

10

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionto Eurostat, as was already the case for statistics 
on international trade in goods. As such, the 
data presented in this publication for these four 
subject areas — demography, national accounts, 
energy and international trade in goods — are 
generally sourced from the same data tables 
as those providing information on the EU‑28 
aggregate. These statistics are also freely 
available on‑line through the following links: 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/population‑
demography‑migration‑projections/population‑
data/database, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/
web/national‑accounts/data/database and 
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/international‑
trade‑in‑goods/data/database.

The European system of national and regional 
accounts (ESA) provides the methodology for 
national accounts in the EU: note that statistics 
for Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina were 
compiled under ESA‑95, while those for the 
EU‑28 aggregate and for all other enlargement 
countries were compiled under ESA 2010.

euroStat Data coDe

Data codes have been inserted after most 
tables and figures to help readers access the 
most recent data on the Eurostat website: the 
data codes link directly to the associated tables 
within Eurobase. Those codes beginning cpc 
contain data just for the enlargement countries; 
the other codes generally contain the data for 

Introduction

the EU‑28 aggregate (as well as, in most cases, 
data for individual EU Member States and EFTA 
countries) and in some cases for some or all of 
the enlargement countries).

In the PDF version of this publication, data codes 
under the tables and figures are presented as 
internet hyperlinks. The data on Eurostat’s website 
are frequently updated and may therefore differ 
from those presented in this publication and often 
contain more detailed data.

Exchange rates

For some indicators, monetary values were 
provided by the enlargement countries 
in national currency terms. In these cases, 
Eurostat converted the series using exchange 
rates (annual averages for the reference year 
in question) so that data for all indicators are 
denominated in the same currency.

While the conversion to a common currency unit 
facilitates comparisons of data between countries, 
it is important to understand that changes in 
exchange rates are partially responsible for 
movements identified when looking at the 
development of a time series for an indicator 
that is denominated in euro. Table 2 provides 
information on the annual average exchange rates 
between the euro and the enlargement currencies 
for the period 2005–2015. Note that Montenegro 
and Kosovo both employ the euro as their de 
facto domestic currency.

Table	2:	Euro exchange rates, annual averages, 2005–2015
(1 euro = … national currency)
2006

2008

2009

2005

2007

2010

2011

Montenegro (1)
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo (1)

1
61.30

124.2
83.0
1.670
1.956
1

1
61.19

123.1
84.1
1.800
1.956
1

1
61.18

123.6
80.0
1.778
1.956
1

1
61.27

122.8
81.4
1.896
1.956
1

1
61.27

132.1
94.0
2.151
1.956
1

1
61.52

137.8
103.0
1.989
1.956
1

1
61.53

140.3
102.0
2.322
1.956
1

(1)  The euro is used as a de facto domestic currency.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: cpc_ecexint)

2012

2013

2014

2015

1
61.53

139.0
113.1
2.314
1.956
1

1
61.58

140.3
113.1
2.534
1.956
1

1
61.62

140.0
117.3
2.906
1.956
1

1
61.61

139.7
120.7
3.026
1.956
1

11

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  Introduction

Symbols and abbreviations

Statistical data are often accompanied by 
additional information, for example concerning 
the quality or status of the data. In figures, all 
additional information is provided by way of 
footnotes. The following symbols are used in 
tables:

Value in italics   provisional data, estimates or 

: 

– 

forecasts (in other words, data that 
are likely to change)

 shown where data are not 
available, confidential or unreliable

 shown where an indicator is not 
relevant

meaSurement unitS or 
ScalarS

% 
billion 
EUR 
head 

kg 
kgoe 
km 
km² 
tonne (t) 
toe 

 percentage
 1 000 million
 euro
 unit of measure for counting the 
number of (farm) animals
 kilogram
 kilogram of oil equivalent
 kilometre
 square kilometre
 1 000 kg
 tonne of oil equivalent

other abbreviationS

ACP 

CAP 
CO2 

 African, Caribbean and Pacific 
(countries)
 common agricultural policy
 carbon dioxide

EDP 
EEA 
EFTA 
ENP 
ESA 
ESS 
EU 
EU‑15 
EU‑25 
EU‑27 
EU‑28 
FDI 
GDP 
GERD 
ICJ 
ILO 
IMF 
ISCED 

NACE 

NPISHs 

OECD 

PC 
PDF 
PPS 
R & D 
Rev. 
SGP 
SITC 

UNFCCC 

UNSCR 

 excessive deficit procedure
 European Environment Agency
 European Free Trade Association
 European neighbourhood policy
 European system of accounts
 European statistical system
 European Union
 European Union of 15 Member States
 European Union of 25 Member States
 European Union of 27 Member States
 European Union of 28 Member States
 foreign direct investment
 gross domestic product
 gross domestic expenditure on R & D
 International Court of Justice
 International Labour Organisation
 International Monetary Fund
 international standard classification of 
education
 statistical classification of economic 
activities in the European Community
 non‑profit institutions serving 
households
 Organisation for Economic 
Co‑operation and Development
 personal computer
 portable document format
 purchasing power standards
 research and development
 revision
 stability and growth pact
 standard international trade 
classification
 United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change
 United Nations Security Council 
resolution

12

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition1 Population

1 Population

Population size

Eurostat collects data from EU Member 
States and other countries participating in its 
demography data collection in relation to the 
population as of 1 January each year (or, in some 
cases, on 31 December of the previous year). The 
recommended definition is the ‘usual resident 
population’ and represents the number of 
inhabitants of a given area.

Statistics on population change and the 
structure of population are increasingly used 
to support policymaking and provide an 
opportunity to monitor demographic behaviour 
within an economic, social and cultural context.

The combined population of the enlargement 
countries was estimated to be almost 96 million 
inhabitants in 2015 (see Table 1.1), which was 
equivalent to slightly less than one fifth (18.9 %) 
of the EU‑28 total (508 million persons). Turkey 
was by far the largest enlargement country, with 
a population of 78 million inhabitants in 2015, 
just lower than the population of Germany (81 
million in 2015), but higher than in any other EU 
Member State. By contrast, Montenegro was 
the smallest enlargement country in population 
terms, with a population of 622 thousand 
inhabitants, somewhat smaller than the population 

of Cyprus (847 thousand) but larger than 
those of Luxembourg (563 thousand) or Malta 
(429 thousand).

The development of the number of inhabitants 
within the enlargement countries followed a 
varied pattern during the period 2005–2015. The 
population of Turkey increased at a relatively 
rapid pace, growing by 14.2 % overall during 
the period under consideration, while the 
number of inhabitants in Montenegro and 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
grew at a modest pace, increasing by 1.4 % 
and 1.7 % respectively; this was slower than 
the corresponding rate of change in the EU‑28, 
where the population grew overall by 2.8 %. 
There was a small contraction (− 0.6 %) in the 
level of population in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
between 2005 and 2015, while the number of 
inhabitants contracted by 4–5 % in Albania and 
Serbia. The largest decline in population levels 
was recorded in Kosovo, where the number 
of inhabitants fell by 13.2 %; note there was 
a break in series in 2011, with uninterrupted 
annual growth before this break and then again 
between 2011 and 2013.

Population density provides information on 
the average number of inhabitants per square 

Table	1.1:	Population as of 1 January, 2005–2015
(thousands)

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro (2)
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (3)
Turkey (4)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (5)
Kosovo (3)

2005

494 598 
613 
2 035 

3 020 
7 456 
68 010 
3 843 
2 041 

2007

498 301 
615 
2 042 

2 982 
7 398 
69 730 
3 843 
2 127 

2009

502 090 
617 
2 049 

2 936 
7 335 
71 517 
3 843 
2 181 

2011

502 965 
620 
2 057 

2 907 
7 254 
73 723 
3 840 
1 799 

2013

505 167 
621 
2 062 

2 898 
7 184 
75 627 
3 832 
1 821 

2015

508 451 
622 
2 069 

2 892 
7 114 
77 696 
3 819 
1 772 

(1)  2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015: break in series.
(2)  2010: break in series.
(3)  2011: break in series.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_pjan and cpc_psdemo)

(4)  2008: break in series.
(5)  Mid-year population.

14

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionPopulation

1

kilometre (km²). Among the enlargement countries, 
the highest ratio was recorded in Kosovo, 165.8 
inhabitants per km² (2014 data). Kosovo was the 
only enlargement country with a population 
density ratio that was higher than the EU‑28 
average, which stood at 116.7 inhabitants per km² 
in 2014 (see Figure 1.1). By contrast, the lowest 
population density among the enlargement 
countries was recorded in Montenegro (which also 
had the lowest number of inhabitants), with a ratio 
of 45.0 inhabitants per km² in 2015.

There were more women than men living in 
the EU‑28 in 2015 (see Figure 1.2): the difference 
between the sexes was relatively small, as 
the female population accounted for 51.2 % 
of the total population in 2015. Among the 
enlargement countries, the share of women 
peaked at 51.3 % of the total population in 
Serbia, while Bosnia and Herzegovina (2014 data) 
and Montenegro also reported that women 
accounted for the majority of their population. 
In the four remaining enlargement countries, 
the male population was slightly larger than the 

Figure	1.1:	Population density, 2015
(inhabitants/km²)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

EU-28 (1)(2)

Kosovo (1)(2)
Albania
Turkey
Serbia (1)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)(3)
Montenegro

(1)  2014.
(2)  Estimate.
(3)  Mid-year population.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: tps00003 and demo_r_d3dens) and Eurostat enlargement data collection

Figure	1.2:	Population by sex, 2015
(% of total population)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28 (1)

Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)(3)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Turkey
Kosovo (1)(2)
Albania

(1)  Estimate.
(2)  2014.
(3)  Mid-year population.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_pjan and cpc_psdemo)

Males

Females

15

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  1 Population

female population, recording its highest share in 
Albania (50.5 % of the total population in 2015).

Population age structure

The EU‑28 population is ageing as consistently 
low birth rates and higher life expectancy 
transform the shape of its age pyramid. As a 
result, the proportion of young people (aged less 
than 15 years) and the proportion of working 
age people (aged 15–64) is shrinking, while 
the relative share of those aged 65 or more is 
expanding.

In 2015, the working‑age population accounted 
for almost two thirds (65.5 %) of the total 
population of the EU‑28 and a similar share in 
each of the enlargement countries (see Figure 

Figure	1.3:	Population by age class, 2015
(% of total population)

1.3): the lowest share was 65.1 % in Kosovo 
(2014 data) and the highest share was 70.5 % in 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. By 
contrast, the relative importance of those age 
groups who are often referred to as dependents 
varied considerably. For example, in the EU‑28, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2014 data), and the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia those 
aged less than 15 years accounted for 15–17 % of 
the total population in 2015, while in Serbia the 
share was lower, at 14.4 %. The share of younger 
persons was closer to one fifth of the total 
population in Montenegro and Albania, rising 
to close to one quarter of the total in Turkey 
and peaking at 28.1 % in Kosovo (2014 data). 
Conversely, less than one tenth of the population 
in Kosovo (2014 data) and Turkey was aged 65 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28 (1)

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)
Kosovo (1)(2)

(1)  Estimates.
(2)  2014.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_pjangroup and cpc_psdemo)

Less than 15 years

15–64 years

65 years and more

16

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionPopulation

1

or more, while this share averaged 18.9 % in 
the EU‑28 and peaked among the remaining 
enlargement countries at 18.5 % in Serbia.

Age dependency ratios compare the size of 
the age groups that are generally economically 
inactive— children and older people — with 
the size of the working‑age population. In 2015, 
the total dependency ratio (the sum of children 
and older people compared with the number 
of working age people) was 52.6 % in the EU‑28; 
in other words, there were slightly less than 
two people of working age to maintain the 
upbringing and social expenditure required 
by each economically dependent person. 
Total dependency ratios in the enlargement 
countries ranged from a high of 53.6 % in 
Kosovo (2014 data) down to 41.8 % in the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Kosovo was 
the only enlargement country to record a total 
dependency ratio that was above the average 
for the EU‑28 and was also the only enlargement 
country to record a ratio that was above 50.0 %.

There are considerable differences in age 
structures between enlargement countries 

which impact upon the analysis of total 
dependency ratios. For example, in Kosovo 
there is a relatively young population structure, 
whereas in Serbia the population structure 
is more akin to that of the EU‑28, with a 
considerably lower share of young people and 
a considerably higher share of older persons. 
In 2015, the old‑age dependency ratio ranged 
across the enlargement countries from 27.5 % in 
Serbia to 11.8 % in Turkey and 10.4 % in Kosovo 
(2014 data). None of the enlargement countries 
recorded an old‑age dependency ratio that 
was as high as the EU‑28 average, which stood 
at 28.8 % (see Figure 1.4). By contrast, young 
dependency ratios ranged from a high of 43.2 % 
in Kosovo (2014 data) down to 21.4 % in Serbia, 
with Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia the only enlargement countries 
to record young dependency ratios that were 
lower or equal to the EU‑28 average of 23.8 %. 
These differences in age structures may result in 
pressures on various public services, for example, 
national educational systems in those countries 
with a relatively high proportion of young 
persons and care (including healthcare) and 

Figure	1.4:	Young and old-age dependency ratios, 2015
(% of population aged 15–64)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

EU-28 (1)

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)
Kosovo (1)(2)

(1)  Estimates.
(2)  2014.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_pjanind and cpc_psdemo)

Young dependency ratio

Old-age dependency ratio

17

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  1 Population

pension systems in those countries characterised 
as having relatively high proportions of older 
persons.

Birth and death rates

The crude birth rate (or crude death rate) is the 
ratio of the number of births (deaths) during the 
year to the average population in that year; the 
value is expressed per 1 000 inhabitants. If the 
crude birth rate exceeds the crude death rate 
then there is natural population growth.

The crude birth rate in Kosovo peaked at 17.4 per 
1 000 inhabitants in 2015, which was roughly 
75 % higher than in the EU‑28. Turkey (16.9 births 
per 1 000 inhabitants) also recorded a relatively 
high crude birth rate, while Montenegro, Albania 

and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
each recorded rates that were slightly above the 
EU‑28 average. Crude birth rates in Serbia and 
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2014 data) were below 
the EU‑28 average, particularly so in the latter, 
where an average of 7.6 births were recorded for 
each 1 000 inhabitants.

Serbia recorded the highest crude death rate 
among the enlargement countries, at 14.6 per 
1 000 inhabitants in 2015; this appears not to 
have been an exceptional value as it was in 
keeping with the rates registered in 2005 (14.3 
per 1 000 inhabitants) and 2010 (14.2 per 1 000 
inhabitants). Serbia was the only enlargement 
country to record a crude death rate that was 
higher than the EU‑28 average. By contrast, 

Table	1.2:	Crude birth and death rates, 2005, 2010 and 2015
(per 1 000 inhabitants)

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro (2)
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania (3)
Serbia (4)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (5)
Kosovo (4)(6)

(1)  2010 and 2015: break in series.
(2)  2010: break in series.
(3)  2008 instead of 2010.

Crude birth rates
2010
10.7 
12.0 
11.8 

11.4 
9.4 
17.2 
8.7 
15.7 

2005
10.4 
12.0 
11.0 

12.6 
9.7 
18.2 
9.0 
18.0 

2015
10.0 
11.9 
11.1 

11.5 
9.3 
16.9 
7.6 
17.4 

Crude death rates
2010
9.7 
9.1 
9.3 

5.1 
14.2 
5.4 
9.1 
3.2 

2005
9.8 
9.5 
9.0 

5.4 
14.3 
5.9 
9.0 
3.5 

2015
10.3 
10.2 
9.9 

7.8 
14.6 
5.2 
9.1 
5.0 

(4)  2015: break in series.
(5)  2014 instead of 2015.
(6)  2009 instead of 2010.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: demo_gind)

the lowest crude death rates — about half the 
EU‑28 average — were recorded in Turkey (5.2 
per 1 000 inhabitants) and Kosovo (5.0 per 1 000 
inhabitants).

Fertility rates

Fertility is the ability to conceive (become 
pregnant) and give birth to children. The total 
fertility rates is defined as the mean number 

of children who would be born to a woman 
during her lifetime, if she were to spend her 
childbearing years conforming to the age‑
specific fertility rates that have been measured in 
a given year.

Turkey and Kosovo were the only enlargement 
countries to record fertility rates around the 
replacement rate (developed world countries 
are thought to need a fertility rate of around 
2.1 children per woman in order to maintain 

18

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionPopulation

1

Table	1.3:	Total fertility rate, 2004–2014
(average number of children per woman)

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (2)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)
Kosovo (3)

(1)  2010, 2012 and 2014: break in series.
(2)  2012: break in series.
(3)  Rounded data.

2004

1.50 
: 
1.52 

1.79 
1.57 
: 
1.20 
: 

2006

1.54 
1.73 
1.46 

1.38 
1.43 
: 
1.20 
: 

2008

1.61 
1.89 
1.47 

: 
1.40 
2.10 
1.30 
: 

2010

1.62 
1.70 
1.56 

: 
1.40 
2.04 
1.30 
: 

2012

1.59 
1.72 
1.51 

: 
1.45 
2.09 
1.30 
1.90 

2014

1.58 
1.75 
1.52 

1.78 
1.46 
2.17 
: 
2.20 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_find and cpc_psdemo)

their population levels). In 2014, the total fertility 
rate in Kosovo was 2.2, while in Turkey it stood 
at 2.17 (see Table 1.3). While the fertility rate in 
Kosovo rose quite rapidly between 2012 and 
2014 (climbing by an average of 0.3 children per 
woman), the fertility rate in Turkey remained 
relatively stable, fluctuating between 2.03 and 
2.17 children per woman throughout the period 
2007–2014.

Aside from Kosovo and Turkey, fertility rates in 
Montenegro and Albania were also above the 
average for the EU‑28 in 2014 (which stood at 
1.58 children per woman), reaching 1.75 and 
1.78 respectively. By contrast, the lowest fertility 
rates among the enlargement countries were 
observed in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1.3 children 
per woman; 2012 data), Serbia (1.46) and the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1.52).

Life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy at birth is the average number 
of years that a person can expect to live, if 
subjected throughout the rest of his/her life to 
current mortality conditions. Life expectancy 
at birth rose rapidly during the last century due 
to a number of factors, including: reductions 
in infant mortality; rising living standards; 
improved lifestyles; better education; advances 
in healthcare and medicine.

Life expectancy at birth for women was 
consistently higher than for men in 2014, 
both within the EU‑28 and across all of the 
enlargement countries for which data are 
available (see Figure 1.5). This gender gap peaked 
at 5.5 years in the EU‑28 and Turkey, while life 
expectancy at birth for women was between 
3.9 years and 5.3 years more than it was for men 
across the remaining enlargement countries.

In 2014, life expectancy for men in the 
enlargement countries ranged from a low of 72.8 
years in Serbia to 76.4 years in Albania (compared 
with 78.1 years in the EU‑28). For women, life 
expectancy across the enlargement countries 
was slightly more homogeneous, ranging from a 
low of 77.5 years in the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia to 80.9 years in Turkey (compared 
with 83.6 years in the EU‑28).

There was an increase in life expectancy for 
both men and women in the EU‑28 and in all of 
the enlargement countries between 2004 and 
2014 (note the latest data available refer to the 
period between 2005 and 2014 for Montenegro 
and that time‑series are not available for Turkey 
or Kosovo). Female life expectancy in the EU‑28 
rose, on average, by 2.1 years between 2004 and 
2014, with higher increases recorded in Albania 
(3.1 years) and Serbia (2.5 years).

19

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  1 Population

Figure	1.5:	Life expectancy at birth, 2014
(years)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

EU-28 (1)

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania (1)
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)
Kosovo

(1)  Estimates.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_mlexpec and cpc_psdemo)

Figure	1.6:	Life expectancy at birth, females, 2004 and 2014
(years)

Males

Females

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

EU-28 (1)

Albania (1)
Kosovo (2)
Turkey (2)
Montenegro (3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)
Serbia
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

(1)  Estimates.
(2)  2004: not available.
(3)  2005 instead of 2004.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_mlexpec and cpc_psdemo)

2004

2014

Infant mortality rates

The infant mortality rate is defined as the ratio 
of the number of deaths of children under one 
year of age to the number of live births in the 
reference year; the value is expressed per 1 000 
live births.

Most women in the developed world give 
birth in hospital, where a range of technologies 
are available to help monitor and assist with 

childbirth and there has been a relatively rapid 
decline in infant mortality rates. This pattern 
was most apparent among the enlargement 
countries in Turkey, Albania and Kosovo (see 
Figure 1.7). Nevertheless, infant mortality rates 
in Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia and Turkey remained between two 
and three times as high as in the EU‑28.

Between 2004 and 2014, the infant mortality 
rate in Turkey was more than halved, falling by 

20

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionPopulation

1

Figure	1.7:	Infant mortality rate, 2004 and 2014
(per 1 000 live births)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

EU-28

Turkey
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Kosovo
Serbia
Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)

(1)  2014: provisional.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: demo_minfind and cpc_psdemo)

16.3 deaths per 1 000 live births (or almost 60 %). 
Infant mortality rates fell by between 25 % and 
50 % in the remaining enlargement countries, 
with the next largest declines recorded in 
Albania and Kosovo. For comparison, the infant 
mortality rate in the EU‑28 fell by 27 % overall 
during the period under consideration.

The infant mortality rate in the EU‑28 was 3.7 
deaths per 1 000 live births in 2014. Each of the 
enlargement countries recorded a higher rate, 
with these ranging from 4.8 deaths per 1 000 
live births in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2014 data) 
to 9.9 deaths per 1 000 live births in the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and 11.1 deaths 
per 1 000 live births in Turkey.

Population change

Total population change may be decomposed 
into two primary components: the crude rate 
of population change and the crude rate of net 
migration. As noted above, the former may be 
calculated by subtracting the crude death rate 
from the crude birth rate with a positive result 
implying that the natural rate of population 
change is increasing. In recent years, the EU‑28 
crude birth rate was generally slightly higher 
than the crude death rate, resulting in a modest 

2004

2014

level of natural population increase. However, in 
2015 the EU‑28 crude birth rate was 0.3 per 1 000 
inhabitants lower than its crude death rate; as 
such, the natural rate of population change was 
a decrease. Among the enlargement countries, 
differences between these two rates tended to 
be wider (see Figure 1.8); this was particularly 
the case in Kosovo and Turkey, where crude 
birth rates were considerably higher than crude 
death rates, with the natural rate of population 
change reaching 12.4 per 1 000 inhabitants in 
Kosovo and 11.8 per 1 000 inhabitants in Turkey. 
By contrast, crude death rates in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (2014 data) and Serbia exceeded 
crude birth rates (as in the EU‑28), and as a result 
the natural rate of population change fell by 1.5 
per 1 000 inhabitants in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
and by 5.4 per 1 000 inhabitants in Serbia.

The other component of population change is 
net migration. In the face of relatively low crude 
birth rates, natural decreases in population 
numbers, and a gradually ageing society with 
an increasing share of elderly persons, some 
countries have maintained their (working‑age) 
populations through migratory flows. In 2015, 
the EU‑28’s crude rate of net migration was 3.7 
per 1 000 inhabitants, higher than it had been in 
2005 (when it was 0.6 per 1 000 inhabitants).

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  1 Population

The pattern in the enlargement countries was 
less clear, with most recording negative rates as 
higher numbers of people left their territories 
(compared with the numbers arriving). In 2015, 
the crude rate of net migration was positive 
in Turkey (1.6 per 1 000 inhabitants), while 
there was no change in population as a result 

of migratory flows in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(2014 data) or Serbia. All four of the remaining 
enlargement countries reported a negative 
rate of net migration, with a relatively high 
proportion of the migrants leaving Albania (net 
migration of − 5.9 per 1 000 inhabitants) and, in 
particular, Kosovo (− 31.1 per 1 000 inhabitants).

Figure	1.8:	Population change, 2005 and 2015 (1)
(per 1 000 inhabitants)

−40

−30

−20

−10

0

10

20

30

2005

EU-28

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

−40

−30

−20

−10

0

10

20

30

2015

EU-28 (2)

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2)
Albania (2)
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)(3)
Kosovo (2)

Crude rate of natural change

Crude rate of net migration plus statistical adjustment

(1)  EU-28, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo: break in series.
(2)  Provisional and/or estimates.
(3)  2014 instead of 2015.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: demo_gind)

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  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition2 Living	conditions

2 Living conditions

Income distribution

The income quintile share ratio, also known as 
the S80/S20 ratio, is a measure of the inequality 
of income distribution. It is calculated as the 
ratio of total income received by the 20 % of 
the population with the highest income (the 
top quintile) to that received by the 20 % of the 
population with the lowest income (the bottom 
quintile); incomes are equivalised to take account 
of the varying composition of households.

Figure 2.1 shows that the income of the top 
population quintile in the EU‑28 was 5.2 times 
the size of the income of the bottom population 
quintile in 2014. All three candidate countries for 
which recent data are available reported a higher 
degree of income inequality than that observed 
in the EU‑28: the ratio stood at 7.2 in the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and reached 
9.3 in Turkey (2012 data) and 9.8 in Serbia.

Between the two years shown in Figure 2.1, the 
income quintile share ratio rose slightly in the 
EU‑28 from 4.9 to 5.2 (2010–2014). There was 
a far more rapid increase in income inequality 
in Serbia, where this ratio rose from 5.6 to 9.8 
(2009–2014). By contrast, the distribution of 

income in Turkey became more equitable, as the 
quintile share ratio fell from 10.3 to 9.3 (2009–
2012), while this pattern was even more apparent 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
as its ratio fell from 10.3 to 7.2 (2010–2014). Data 
are only available for 2009 for Albania, where the 
level of income inequality was somewhat lower 
than in the EU‑28, as the income quintile share 
ratio stood at 4.1.

The Gini coefficient is an alternative measure of 
income inequality. It shows the extent to which 
all incomes within the population differ from 
the average income: the closer the coefficient is 
to 100 the less equal are the incomes, while the 
closer it is to 0 the more equal are the incomes.

In the EU‑28, the Gini coefficient in 2014 was 
30.9 (see Figure 2.2). As already observed for 
the income quintile share ratio, Gini coefficients 
for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
(35.2; 2014 data), Serbia (38.2; 2015 data) and 
Turkey (42.8; 2012 data) were also higher than 
the ratio observed for the EU‑28. Data are also 
available for Montenegro which reported a Gini 
coefficient (26.2; 2013 data) that was lower than 
that in the EU‑28.

Figure	2.1:	Inequality of income distribution (income quintile share ratio),  
2009 and 2014 (1)
(ratio)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

EU-28 (2)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2)

Turkey (3)

Serbia

Albania (4)

(1)  Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not 

available.

(2)  2010 instead of 2009.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: ilc_di11 and cpc_psilc)

24

2009

2014

(3)  2012 instead of 2014.
(4)  2008 instead of 2009. 2014: not available. Calculated on the 

basis of consumption per capita.

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionLiving conditions

2

Figure	2.2:	Gini coefficient, 2005 and 2015 (1)
(ratio)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

EU-28 (2)(3)

Turkey (4)

Serbia (5)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (3)(5)

Montenegro (6)

Albania (7)

(1)  Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2005: EU-27; estimate.
(3)  2014 instead of 2015.
(4)  2012 instead of 2015.

2005

2015

(5)  2005: not available
(6)  Calculation based on consumption. 2013 instead of 2015.
(7)  2015: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: ilc_di12) and enlargement data collection

Montenegro and the EU (EU‑27 for 2005 and 
EU‑28 for 2014) reported little change in the Gini 
coefficients between the two years shown in 
Figure 2.2, whereas the Gini coefficient increased 
in Turkey from 38.0 to 42.8.

Poverty

The total net income of each household is 
calculated by adding together the income 
received by all the members of the household 
from all sources. For each person, the equivalised 
total net income is calculated as the household’s 
total net income divided by the equivalised 
household size, the latter generally based on the 
modified OECD scale: a weight of 1.0 for the first 
adult, 0.5 for other persons aged 14 or over who 
are living in the household and 0.3 for each child 
aged less than 14.

Poverty thresholds are set at 60 % of national 
median equivalised disposable income (after 
social transfers). These thresholds are set 
independently for each country: as such, the 
indicator reflects low income in comparison with 

other residents of the same country, which does 
not necessarily imply a low standard of living. 
The at‑risk‑of‑poverty rate is the proportion of 
the population with an equivalised disposable 
income below the at‑risk‑of‑poverty threshold; 
it can be calculated either before or after social 
transfers, reflecting the share of the population 
that is moved above the threshold as a result of 
receiving social transfers.

In the EU‑28, close to half (44.7 %) of the 
population were at risk of poverty before social 
transfers in 2014, with this share dropping to less 
than one fifth (17.2 %) of the population once 
the impact of social transfers was taken into 
account. At‑risk‑of‑poverty rates are available 
for three candidate countries, all of which 
reported rates before transfers below that of the 
EU‑28 and rates after transfers above that of the 
EU‑28 — see Figure 2.3. The proportion of the 
population that was at risk of poverty (after social 
transfers) in 2014 was highest in Serbia, at 25.4 %; 
somewhat lower rates were recorded in Turkey 
(23.7 %; 2012 data) and the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (22.1 %).

25

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  2 Living conditions

Figure	2.3:	Proportion of the population at risk of poverty, 2014 (1)
(%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

EU-28

Serbia

Turkey (2)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Before transfers

After transfers

(1)  Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2012.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: ilc_li02, ilc_li09 and cpc_psilc)

Table	2.1:	Poverty main indicators, 2014

At-risk-of-poverty 
threshold (monthly 
income)

Proportion of the 
population at risk of 
poverty before transfers 
(%)

Proportion of the 
population at risk of 
poverty after transfers  
(%)

(national 
currency)

– 
: 
5 308 

: 
13 680 
501 
416 
: 

(euro)

Male

Female

Male

Female

– 
: 
86 

: 
121 
198 
213 
: 

42.6 
: 
25.2 

: 
33.2 
37.3 
: 
: 

46.6 
: 
24.4 

: 
32.0 
40.3 
: 
: 

16.7 
: 
22.3 

: 
26.0 
23.3 
: 
: 

17.7 
: 
21.9 

: 
24.8 
24.2 
: 
: 

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (1)
Albania
Serbia (2)
Turkey (3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)
Kosovo

(1)  At-risk-of-poverty threshold: 2011.
(2)  At-risk-of-poverty threshold: 2012.
(3)  At-risk-of-poverty threshold: 2013. Proportion of the population at risk of poverty: 2012.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: ilc_li02, ilc_li09, ilc_li01, cpc_psilc and cpc_ecexint)

Poverty thresholds can be expressed in relation 
to monthly incomes, in either national currency 
or euro terms. The level of income required 
to avoid the risk of poverty ranged — among 
those enlargement countries for which data are 
available (see Table 2.1) — from the equivalent 
of EUR 86 in the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia (2011 data) to EUR 198 in Turkey (2013 
data) and EUR 213 in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(2011 data).

Jobless households

Indicators on jobless households are normally 
compiled from a labour force survey and identify 
households where no one was in employment 
(for pay or profit for at least one hour) during 
the survey reference week. The two indicators 
presented in Table 2.2 concern different sub‑
populations, namely people aged 0–17 and 
those of working age, in this case defined as 
persons aged 18–59.

26

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionLiving conditions

2

Table	2.2:	Proportion of persons who are living in households where no-one is 
working, 2005, 2010 and 2015
(%)

2005

2010

2015

Persons 
aged 0–17
10.0 
: 
30.8 

Persons 
aged 18–59
10.3 
: 
25.0 

Persons 
aged 0–17
10.7 
: 
24.6 

Persons 
aged 18–59
10.5 
: 
19.2 

Persons 
aged 0–17
10.7 
: 
19.4 

Persons 
aged 18–59
10.6 
: 
15.7 

: 
9.8 
15.4 
: 
: 

: 
12.5 
15.6 
: 
: 

: 
: 
14.3 
: 
: 

: 
: 
15.5 
: 
: 

: 
: 
9.9 
: 
: 

: 
: 
11.4 
: 
: 

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (1)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  2006 instead of 2005.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsi_jhh_a and cpc_psilc)

In 2015, there was little difference between the 
values observed for these sub‑populations in 
the EU‑28, with both indicating that just over 
one in ten of the population lived in a jobless 
household. In Turkey, the proportions for both 
age groups were broadly similar to those in the 
EU‑28, with somewhat higher rates for people of 
working age and lower rates for those aged 0–17. 
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
the proportion of persons living in a household 
where no‑one was working was considerably 
higher than in the EU‑28, with close to one in five 
people aged 0–17 living in jobless households as 
were nearly one in six people of working age.

Social protection and health 
expenditure

Social protection systems are generally well‑
developed in the EU: they are designed to 
protect people (to some degree) against the 
risks and needs associated with unemployment, 
parental responsibilities, sickness/health care 
and invalidity/disability, old‑age, housing, the 
loss of a spouse or parent, and other forms of 
social exclusion. Social protection expenditure 
comprises social protection benefits, 

administration costs and other expenditure: 
the data shown in Table 2.3 only concern the 
benefits, which consist of transfers, in cash or in 
kind, by social protection schemes to households 
and individuals to relieve them of the burden of a 
defined set of risks or needs.

In 2012, EU‑28 expenditure on social protection 
benefits was equivalent to more than one 
quarter (27.5 %) of gross domestic product 
(GDP). This level was higher than in any of 
the enlargement countries for which data are 
available: in Serbia the ratio was 22.8 % (2013 
data), while in Turkey (14.0 %; 2014 data) it 
was about half the level recorded in the EU‑28 
and in Kosovo (7.0 %; 2014 data) it was around 
one quarter of the EU‑28 level. Between 2004 
and 2012, the ratio of expenditure on social 
protection benefits to GDP increased in the EU 
from 25.3 % (data for the EU‑25) to 27.5 % (data 
for the EU‑28). The two candidate countries for 
which data are available for both reference years 
shown in Table 2.3 also reported increases in 
their relative share of social protection benefits, 
with an increase of 3.4 percentage points in 
Turkey (2004–2014), while the pace of change 
was more rapid in Serbia, as the ratio climbed by 
7.8 percentage points between 2004 and 2013.

27

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  2 Living conditions

Table	2.3:	Expenditure on social protection benefits, pensions and health, relative to 
gross domestic product, 2004 and 2014
(% of GDP)

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro (2)
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania (3)
Serbia (4)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  2004: EU-25. 2012 instead of 2014.
(2)  2006 instead of 2004.

Social protection expenditure

Social protection benefits

2004
25.3 
: 
: 

10.2 
15.0 
10.6 
: 
: 

2014
27.5 
: 
: 

: 
22.8 
14.0 
: 
7.0 

of which, pensions
2014
2004
12.6 
11.4 
: 
: 
: 
: 

: 
: 
6.2 
: 
: 

: 
12.8 
8.4 
: 
: 

total expenditure  
on health

2004
: 
2.5 
: 

2.6 
6.3 
5.4 
: 
: 

2014
: 
: 
: 

2.8 
: 
5.4 
: 
2.0 

(3)  Health: only public sector expenditure; 2012 instead of 2014.
(4)  Social protection: 2013 instead of 2014.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: spr_exp_sum and cpc_psilc) and enlargement data collection

One factor which may explain (part of) the 
increase in expenditure on social protection 
benefits is an increase in the relative importance 
of pensions, which may be linked (at least in part) 
to ageing populations. Expenditure on pensions 
accounted for just under half (46 %) of the total 
expenditure on social protection benefits in the 
EU‑28 in 2012; in contrast, the share was nearer 
to three fifths in Serbia (in 2013) and Turkey 
(in 2014). Between 2004 and 2012, the ratio 
of expenditure on pensions to GDP rose from 
11.4 % (data for the EU‑25) to 12.6 % (data for the 
EU‑28), an increase of 1.2 percentage points. This 
ratio rose at a faster pace in Turkey — the only 
enlargement country for which a comparison 

is available — as expenditure on pensions rose 
from 6.2 % of GDP to 8.4 % of GDP between 
2004 and 2014.

Total expenditure on health concerns total 
current expenditure and investment on health, 
regardless of the source of funds; note that not all 
health expenditure falls within social protection 
expenditure. The level of health expenditure 
relative to GDP ranged greatly between the three 
enlargement countries for which recent data are 
available (see Table 2.3), from 2.0 % of GDP in 
Kosovo (2014 data) and 2.8 % in Albania (2012 
data covering only the public sector) to 5.4 % in 
Turkey (2014 data).

28

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition3 Education	and	training

3 Education and training

Number of pupils and students

While the absolute number of pupils and 
students is closely linked to the size and 
structure of populations, there are a range of 
other factors that influence how long pupils 
remain in the education system, such as the 
length of compulsory schooling, opportunities in 
the labour market, and the availability and cost 
of tertiary education.

In 2012, there were 109 million pupils and 
students in the EU‑28 across all levels of 
education. In the enlargement countries, there 
were approximately 28 million pupils and 
students enrolled in 2015 (see Table 3.1 for the 
latest period available for each country); this was 
equivalent to just over one quarter of the total 
number of pupils and students in the EU‑28. 
Turkey registered, by far, the highest number of 
pupils and students, some 24 million in 2015, 
while the smallest number was recorded in 
Montenegro, at 134 thousand.

Within the EU‑28, some 18.6 % of the overall 
number of pupils and students in 2012 were 

attending tertiary education establishments (as 
covered by ISCED 1997 levels 5 and 6). Across 
the enlargement countries the share of tertiary 
students was generally close to the EU‑28 
average, as all but two countries lay within the 
range of 17.4 % (the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia) to 21.4 % (Albania) in 2015; Kosovo 
(24.1 %) and Turkey (27.6 %) were the only 
countries to record higher shares.

Early leavers from education 
and training

In 2015, the proportion of early leavers from 
education and training (the share of persons 
aged 18–24 who attained no more than a lower 
secondary education and were not involved in 
further education or training) stood at 12.4 % in 
the EU‑28 among men and 9.5 % among women 
(see Figure 3.1). The Europe 2020 strategy has set 
a benchmark target, whereby the share of early 
leavers from education and training in the EU‑28 
should be less than 10 % by 2020.

Table	3.1:	Number of pupils and students by education level, 2015 (¹)
(thousand)

r
o
n
o

i
t
a
c
u
d
e
y
r
a
m

i
r
P

c
i
s
a
b
f
o
e
g
a
t
s
t
s
r
fi

n
o

i
t
a
c
u
d
e

)
1
D
E
C
S
I
(

c
i
s
a
b
f
o
e
g
a
t
s
d
n
o
c
e
s

r
o
y
r
a
d
n
o
c
e
s
r
e
w
o
L

n
o

i
t
a
c
u
d
e

)
2
D
E
C
S
I
(

y
r
a
d
n
o
c
e
s
r
e
p
p
U

n
o

i
t
a
c
u
d
e

)
3
D
E
C
S
I
(

28 137.0 
37.9 
108.8 

188.4 
268.9 
5 360.7 
161.5 
137.8 

21 576.3 
30.4 
84.9 

21 702.8 
28.2 
84.0 

175.0 
282.7 
5 211.5 
129.8 
126.5 

140.0 
254.0 
5 807.6 
133.3 
87.5 

y
r
a
m

i
r
p
-
e
r
P

n
o

i
t
a
c
u
d
e

)
0
D
E
C
S
I
(

15 655.8 
12.9 
24.0 

82.5 
199.8 
1 209.1 
22.9 
27.5 

n
o

i
t
a
c
u
d
e
y
r
a
i
t
r
e
t
-
n
o
n

y
r
a
d
n
o
c
e
s
-
t
s
o
P

)
4
D
E
C
S
I
(

1 488.7 
: 
0.2 

2.0 
1.6 
0.0 
: 
: 

n
o

i
t
a
c
u
d
e
y
r
a
i
t
r
e
t

f
o
e
g
a
t
s
t
s
r
i
F

)
5
D
E
C
S
I
(

19 528.6 
24.6 
63.3 

156.6 
232.5 
6 603.1 
94.5 
103.5 

n
o

i
t
a
c
u
d
e
y
r
a
i
t
r
e
t

f
o
e
g
a
t
s
d
n
o
c
e
S

)
6
D
E
C
S
I
(

717.3 
0.0 
0.3 

3.9 
8.6 
86.1 
3.7 
17.0 

EU-28 (2)
Montenegro (3)
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (4)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (5)
Kosovo

ISCED 1997.

(1) 
(2)  2012.
(3)  ISCED 5: includes master’s students.

(4)  Tertiary education: 2014.
(5)  ISCED 0–3: data refer to the beginning of the school year. 

ISCED 6: master’s of science, specialists and doctors of science.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: educ_ilev and cpc_pseduc)

30

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Education and training

3

Figure	3.1:	Early leavers from education and training among those aged 18–24 years, 
2015 (¹)
(% of male/female 18–24 year olds)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

EU-28 (2)

Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Albania (3)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (4)
Serbia
Montenegro

(1) 

ISCED 1997. The percentage of the population aged 18–24 
having attained at most a lower secondary education 
(ISCED level 2) and not being involved in further education 
or training. Ranked on the average of all early leavers from 
education and training. Kosovo: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: edat_lfse_14 and cpc_pseduc)

(2)  ISCED 2011.
(3)  Estimates.
(4)  Provisional.

Men

Women

When compared with the EU‑28, there were 
lower proportions of early leavers from 
education and training in Serbia and in 
Montenegro, while the proportions recorded 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
were of a similar magnitude to those in the 
EU, although with higher shares for women 
than for men. By contrast, Albania, Bosnia and 
Herzegovina and Turkey recorded much higher 
proportions of early leavers from education and 
training than in the EU‑28, peaking in Turkey at 
35.4 % for men and 37.9 % for women.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina the proportion of 
men who were early leavers from education 
and training was considerably higher than the 
corresponding share for women, with a gender gap 
of 8.8 percentage points. In Albania and Serbia, the 
proportion of early leavers was somewhat higher 
for men than for women, as it was in the EU‑28. 
Elsewhere among the enlargement countries the 
share of early leavers was higher among women 
than among men, with this gender gap reaching 
2.9 percentage points in the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia.

Youth education attainment

An alternative measure for analysing the 
outcomes of education systems is the youth 
education attainment level. This indicator is 
defined as the proportion of 20–24 year olds 
who have achieved at least an upper secondary 
level of education attainment (as defined by 
ISCED level 3).

In 2015, the share of the EU‑28 population with 
at least an upper secondary level of education 
stood at 82.7 %, with a higher rate for women 
(85.0 %) than for men (80.4 %). The overall 
youth education attainment level in the EU‑28 
rose by 5.1 percentage points between 2005 
and 2015. Compared with the EU, there were 
four enlargement countries which reported a 
higher proportion of persons aged 20–24 having 
attained at least an upper secondary level of 
education (see Table 3.2). This was particularly 
the case in Bosnia and Herzegovina (93.8 %), 
Montenegro (93.4 %) and Serbia (91.4 %), as well 
as in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
(86.4 %; 2013 data). A considerably lower level of 
youth educational attainment was recorded in 
Turkey (53.5 %).

31

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  3 Education and training

Table	3.2:	Upper secondary educational attainment among those aged 20–24 years, 
2005, 2010 and 2015 (¹)
(% of 20–24 year olds)

EU-28 (2)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (3)
Albania (4)
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (5)
Kosovo

Total
2010
79.3 
: 
82.8 

73.8 
89.9 
51.0 
92.0 
: 

2005
77.6 
: 
75.8 

43.1 
89.0 
45.5 
83.6 
: 

2015
82.7 
93.4 
86.4 

: 
91.4 
53.5 
93.8 
: 

2005
75.0 
: 
78.9 

44.0 
89.5 
52.7 
84.1 
: 

Men
2010
76.6 
: 
86.0 

73.9 
88.5 
57.1 
91.5 
: 

Women
2010
82.1 
: 
79.5 

73.7 
91.3 
45.9 
92.5 
: 

2005
80.3 
: 
72.5 

42.4 
88.5 
39.7 
83.0 
: 

2015
85.0 
93.7 
83.3 

: 
92.1 
53.2 
93.1 
: 

2015
80.4 
93.1 
87.2 

: 
90.7 
53.8 
94.4 
: 

(1) 

ISCED 1997. The percentage of the population aged 20–24 
having attained an upper secondary or tertiary level of 
education (ISCED levels 3, 4, 5 or 6).

(2)  2015: break in series (based on ISCED 2011).

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: edat_lfse_9903 and cpc_siinr)

(3)  2006 instead of 2005. Total: 2013 instead of 2015. Male and 

female: 2014 instead of 2015.

(4)  2012 instead of 2010.
(5)  2006 instead of 2005.

Figure	3.2:	Upper secondary educational attainment among those aged 20–24 years, 
2015 (¹)
(% of 20–24 year olds)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28 (2)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Montenegro

Serbia
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (3)
Albania (4)

Turkey

Men

Women

(1) 

ISCED 1997. The percentage of the population aged 20–24 having attained having attained 
an upper secondary or tertiary level of education (ISCED levels 3, 4, 5 or 6). Kosovo: not 
available.
(2)  ISCED 2011.
(3)  2014.
(4)  2012.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: edat_lfse_9903 and cpc_siinr)

Although a time series is only available for some 
of the enlargement countries it can be noted 
that the proportion of students attaining at least 
an upper secondary level of education rose in all 
of them between 2005 and 2015, most notably 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
(2006–2013) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2006–
2015), while the (percentage points) increase for 

Turkey between 2005 and 2015 was also higher 
than that recorded in the EU‑28.

Within the EU‑28 the gender gap in youth 
education attainment showed that levels for 
women in 2015 were 4.6 percentage points higher 
than those for men. Serbia also reported higher 
shares for women, while in Montenegro and 
Turkey the proportions for men and women were 

32

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEducation and training

3

almost equal. Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded 
a higher youth educational attainment for men 
(compared with women), as did the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia where the gap 
reached 3.9 percentage points (2014 data).

Tertiary education

The Europe 2020 strategy has set a benchmark 
target that the share of 30–34 year olds in the 
EU‑28 with tertiary educational attainment 
should reach at least 40 % by 2020; Figure 3.3 
shows the ratio in the EU‑28 stood at 38.7 % in 
2015. All of the enlargement countries for which 
data are available (no data for Kosovo) reported 
lower proportions of this sub‑population having 
completed a tertiary level of education, ranging 
from less than one fifth in Albania (2012 data) 
and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to more than a 
quarter in Serbia (2014 data) and close to one 
third in Montenegro (31.0 % in 2015).

There has been considerable focus on differences 
between subjects that are studied by men and 

women at university. Figure 3.4 shows that across 
the EU‑28 population aged 20–29 in 2012, the 
proportion of men with a science or technology 
degree (22.9 per 1 000 male inhabitants) 
was approximately twice as high as the 
corresponding ratio for women (11.2 per 1 000 
female inhabitants). In all of the enlargement 
countries for which data are available (no data 
for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Kosovo), 
the proportion of men having graduated from a 
science or technology discipline was lower than 
in the EU‑28, peaking in Serbia at 17.3 graduates 
per 1 000 male inhabitants aged 20–29 in 2014. 
By contrast, Serbia stood out as its proportion 
of women having graduated from a science or 
technology discipline — 12.1 per 1 000 female 
inhabitants in 2014 — was higher than the EU‑28 
average (11.2 per 1 000 female inhabitants); 
each of the remaining enlargement countries 
recorded ratios for female tertiary graduates in 
science and technology that were below the 
EU‑28 average.

Figure	3.3:	Proportion of 30–34 year olds having completed tertiary or equivalent 
education, 2015 (¹)
(%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

EU-28 (2)

Montenegro

Serbia (3)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (3)

Turkey

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Albania (4)

ISCED 1997. Kosovo: not available.

(1) 
(2)  ISCED 2011.

(3)  2014.
(4)  2012.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: tsdsc480 and cpc_pseduc)

33

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  3 Education and training

Figure	3.4:	Tertiary graduates in science and technology among those aged 20–29 
years, 2012 (¹)
(per 1 000 male/female inhabitants aged 20–29)

0

5

10

15

20

25

EU-28

Serbia (2)

Turkey

Montenegro

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Men

Women

ISCED 1997. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available.

(1) 
(2)  2014 instead of 2012.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: educ_itertc and cpc_scienc)

Expenditure on education

In 2013, EU‑28 public expenditure on education 
was equivalent to 5.3 % of GDP (see Figure 3.5). 
This was almost the highest ratio recorded for 
this indicator during the period 2004–2013, as a 
peak of 5.4 % was registered in 2009 and 2010 
(reflecting, at least in part, the relatively low 
levels of GDP in both of these years which may 
be linked to the global financial and economic 
crisis).

Public expenditure on education as a share 
of GDP was lower in each of the enlargement 
countries for which data are available (no 
information for Montenegro or for Bosnia and 
Herzegovina). In 2014, the highest ratio was 
recorded in Turkey, at 5.1 %, while ratios within 
the range of 4.0 %–4.5 % were registered in 
Kosovo, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (2012 data). Albania had the lowest 
ratio of public expenditure on education to GDP, 
at 3.3 % in 2014.

Figure	3.5:	Public expenditure on education as a share of GDP, 2004–2014 (1)
(%)
6

EU-28 (2)

5

4

3

2

1

0

Turkey (3)

Kosovo (4)

Serbia

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (5)

Albania

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

(1) 

ISCED 1997. Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina: not 
available.

(2)  Estimates. 2012: break in series due to change to ISCED 2011. 

(3)  2005 and 2007–2010: not available. 2011: break in series.
(4)  2004–2008 and 2013: not available.
(5)  2004–2006 and 2013–2014: not available. 2012: provisional.

2014: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: educ_figdp and duc_uoe_fine06) and Eurostat enlargement data collection

34

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition4 Labour	market

4 Labour market

Activity rates

The activity rate is defined, for any given age 
group, as the proportion of active persons in 
relation to the total population of the same 
age. The economically active population, 
often referred to as the labour force, comprises 
employed and unemployed persons, but not 
the economically inactive, for example, children, 
students and pensioners, as well as people 
caring for family members; some of these may 
be of working‑age. The labour force includes 
people who were not at work but had a job 
or business from which they were temporarily 
absent, for example, because of illness, holidays, 
industrial disputes, education or training.

The EU‑28 activity rate for persons aged 20–64 
years old was 77.1 % in 2015 (see Table 4.1), in 
other words just over three quarters of people 
aged 20–64 were in employment or unemployed 
(and looking for work), with the remainder 
considered to be economically inactive.

Activity rates in the enlargement countries were 
generally much lower than in the EU‑28, although 
this was largely due to relatively low activity rates 
for women (see below for more details relating 
to gender gaps). In 2015, the overall activity rate 
among the enlargement countries for persons 
aged 20–64 ranged from a high of 71.3 % in 
Albania down to 42.8 % in Kosovo.

A comparison between 2005 and 2015 shows 
that the activity rate in the EU‑28 rose by 2.8 
percentage points. There was much faster 
growth in Turkey, where the activity rate rose by 
7.0 percentage points (over the same period), 
while the rate of change was slightly less than 
the EU‑28 average in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(up 2.1 percentage points; 2007–2015) and the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (up 1.7 
percentage points; also 2007–2015). By contrast, 
activity rates in Albania (2007–2015) and Serbia 
fell during the last decade; note that there is a 
break in series for Serbia.

In 2015, the activity rate for men in the EU‑28 
was considerably higher, at 83.4 %, than the rate 
for women, which was 12.5 percentage points 
lower, at 70.9 % (see Figure 4.1). Female activity 
rates in each of the enlargement countries were 
much lower than in the EU‑28. The latest data 
available for 2015 reveal that activity rates for 
women in the enlargement countries peaked 
at 62.1 % in Montenegro, while Albania, Serbia 
and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
also reported that more than half of all women 
aged 20–64 were either in work or available for 
work. At the other end of the range, the activity 
rate for women was less than half in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina (46.3 %), just over one third in 
Turkey (37.3 %) and just over one fifth in Kosovo 
(20.4 %).

Table	4.1:	Activity rates (persons aged 20–64), 2005–2015
(% of total population)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (1)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  2015: break in series.

2005

74.3 
: 
: 

: 
70.1 
52.9 
: 
: 

2007

74.9 
: 
68.5 

72.2 
67.9 
52.7 
57.1 
: 

2009

75.4 
: 
70.1 

69.6 
65.4 
54.5 
57.7 
: 

2011

75.6 
: 
70.1 

75.6 
64.1 
57.2 
58.3 
: 

2013

76.5 
65.1 
70.4 

67.6 
66.1 
58.4 
58.7 
46.4 

2015

77.1 
68.5 
70.2 

71.3 
68.1 
59.9 
59.2 
42.8 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_argan and cpc_pslm)

36

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionLabour market

4

Figure	4.1:	Activity rates (persons aged 20–64) by sex, 2015 (¹)
(% of total population)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

EU-28

Albania (2)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Montenegro
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  Ranked on the total activity rate (male and female).
(2)  Estimates.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_argan and cpc_pslm)

By contrast, activity rates for men in some of 
the enlargement countries were at similar levels 
to that recorded in the EU‑28. In the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia the activity rate 
for men was 83.8 % in 2015, some 0.4 percentage 
points above the EU‑28 average, while in Turkey 
the activity rate for men was 82.7 %, just 0.7 
percentage points lower than the EU‑28 average. 
Among the enlargement countries, activity rates 
for men were lowest in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
and Kosovo, at 71.9 % and 65.1 % respectively.

These gender inequalities may reflect, among 
other factors, patriarchal family structures, the 
degree of female empowerment, religious 
beliefs, other cultural factors, lower pay for 
women, and difficulties in relation to both access 
to jobs and career development for women. A 
comparison between activity rates for men and 
women in 2015 across the enlargement countries 
shows that the widest gender gaps were 
recorded in Turkey and Kosovo, where activity 
rates for women were 45.4 and 44.7 percentage 
points lower than the corresponding rates for 
men. Two of the enlargement countries reported 
gender gaps of less than 20 percentage points: 
Serbia (17.2 points) and Montenegro (12.8 points).

Men

Women

Employment rates

The EU’s labour force survey defines persons in 
employment as those aged 15 and over, who, 
during the reference week, performed some 
work, even for just one hour per week, for pay, 
profit or family gain. 

Employment statistics are frequently reported 
as employment rates to discount the changing 
size of countries’ populations over time and to 
facilitate comparisons between countries of 
different sizes. The employment rate is defined, 
for any given age group, as the percentage 
of employed persons in relation to the total 
population of that same age group. These 
rates are typically published for the working 
age population, which is generally considered 
to be those aged between 15 and 64 years, or 
those aged between 20 and 64 years (the latter 
ratio takes account of the generally increasing 
proportion of young people who remain in 
education beyond the period of compulsory 
education).

One of the headline targets for the Europe 
2020 strategy is to raise the EU‑28 employment 
rate for people aged 20–64 years old to 75 % 
by 2020. In 2015, the EU‑28’s employment rate 

37

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  4 Labour market

Table	4.2:	Employment rates (persons aged 20–64), 2005–2015
(% of labour force)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (1)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  2015: break in series.

2005

67.9 
: 
: 

: 
55.4 
48.1 
: 
: 

2007

69.8 
: 
45.0 

62.7 
55.7 
48.2 
40.9 
: 

2009

69.0 
: 
47.9 

60.4 
54.7 
47.8 
44.2 
: 

2011

68.6 
: 
48.4 

64.9 
49.3 
52.2 
42.5 
: 

2013

68.4 
52.6 
50.3 

56.7 
51.3 
53.4 
42.8 
33.0 

2015

70.1 
56.7 
51.9 

59.3 
56.0 
53.9 
43.2 
29.1 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsi_emp_a and cpc_pslm)

was 70.1 % (see Table 4.2), some 4.9 percentage 
points below this headline target; note that EU 
Member States set their own national targets in 
the light of this overall headline figure for the EU. 
Employment rates for those aged 20–64 ranged 
among the enlargement countries from a high 
of 59.3 % in Albania down to 29.1 % in Kosovo; as 
such the employment rate in each enlargement 
country was at least 10.0 percentage points 
lower than the EU‑28 average.

The EU‑28’s employment rate was 2.2 
percentage points higher in 2015 than in 2005. 
Subject to data availability (no time series for 
Montenegro or Kosovo), employment rates in 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and 
Turkey changed more between these years than 
in the EU, up by 6.9 percentage points (2007–
2015) and 5.8 percentage points (2005–2015) 
respectively. The employment rate in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina was 2.2 percentage points higher 
in 2015 than in 2007, a gain that was similar in 
magnitude to that recorded in the EU‑28. By 
contrast, the employment rate in Serbia was 0.6 
percentage points higher in 2015 than in 2005; 
note, there is a break in series. Albania was the 
only enlargement country to record a fall in its 
employment rate, the rate in 2015 being 3.4 
percentage points lower than in 2007; despite 
this, Albania continued to record the highest 

employment rate among the enlargement 
countries in 2015.

In 2015, the EU‑28 employment rate (75.9 %) for 
men aged 20–64 was some 11.6 percentage 
points higher than the equivalent rate 
for women (64.3 %). Turkey was the only 
enlargement country to report an employment 
rate for men (75.3 %) that was at a similar level 
to that observed for the EU‑28 (see Figure 4.2). 
Indeed, the male employment rate for Turkey 
was considerably higher than any of the 
rates recorded in the remaining enlargement 
countries, as the next highest rate was 68.1 % 
in Albania. Kosovo was the only enlargement 
country to record a male employment rate that 
was below 50 %.

By contrast, employment rates for women 
were below 50 % in all but two of the 
enlargement countries. In 2015, the highest 
female employment rates for those aged 20–64 
were recorded in Montenegro (51.5 %) and 
Albania (50.7 %), while rates between 40 % and 
50 % were registered in Serbia and the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Employment 
rates for women in Turkey and in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina were just below one third of the 
labour force (32.6 % and 32.4 % respectively), 
while the lowest rate was recorded in Kosovo 
(13.2 %).

38

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionLabour market

4

Figure	4.2:	Employment rates (persons aged 20–64) by sex, 2015 (¹)
(% of labour force)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

EU-28

Albania (2)
Montenegro
Serbia
Turkey
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  Ranked on the total employment rate (male and female).
(2)  Estimates.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsi_emp_a and cpc_pslm)

Analysis of employment by 
economic activity

Services employed just over 7 out of every 10 
persons aged 15 or more within the EU‑28’s 
workforce in 2015 (see Figure 4.3). Industry had 
the second largest workforce, with 17.3 % of the 
workforce, while the shares of total employment 
in construction (6.8 %) and agriculture, forestry 
and fishing (4.5 %) were much lower.

The distribution of employment between the 
different economic activities shows that the 
relative weight of services in the enlargement 
countries was generally lower than in the EU‑28. 
Montenegro was the only exception, as nearly 
three quarters (74.8 %) of those employed were 
working in services in 2015; this figure may be 
explained, at least in part, by a considerable 
increase in tourism and real estate developments 
in recent years. Services accounted for more 
than half of the workforce in the remaining 
enlargement countries, except for Albania, where 
their share of those in employment was 40.2 %.

Men

Women

By contrast, the relative share of employment 
in agriculture, forestry and fishing was often 
considerably higher in the enlargement countries 
than in the EU‑28. This was particularly true in 
Albania, as more than two fifths (41.3 %) of the 
workforce was employed in these activities in 
2015. Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted 
for around one fifth of the total workforce in 
Turkey, Serbia, the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
By contrast, the proportion of those employed 
within agriculture, forestry and fishing was at a 
level that was closer to that seen in the EU‑28 
in Montenegro (7.7 %) and fell below the EU‑28 
average in Kosovo (2.3 %).

Across the enlargement countries, the share 
of those employed by industry was generally 
slightly higher than the share recorded for the 
EU‑28, other than in the service‑dominated 
economy of Montenegro and the agriculture‑
dominated economy of Albania, where lower 
shares were recorded.

39

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  4 Labour market

Table 4.3 provides information on the 
development of employment shares by 
economic activity between 2010 and 2015. The 
share of services in the total employment of 
the EU‑28 rose by 1.9 percentage points during 
this five‑year period, while the relative shares 
of industry (− 0.3 points), agriculture, forestry 
and fishing (− 0.7 points) and construction (− 0.9 
points) each fell.

In several of the enlargement countries, the shift 
in employment towards the services sector was 
at a more rapid pace than in the EU‑28; this was 
particularly the case in Albania (2011–2015), Serbia, 
Turkey, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2012–2015). 
While there was a small reduction in the share of 
total employment accounted for by the services 
sector in Montenegro (2011–2015), its share 
remained higher than in the EU‑28 in 2015.

Figure	4.3:	Analysis of employment (persons aged 15 or more) by economic activity 
(NACE Rev. 2), 2015 (¹)
(% of total employment)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28

Montenegro
Kosovo
Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Turkey
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania (2)

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Industry

Construction

Services

(1)  Ranked on the share of services.
(2)  Estimates.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_egan2 and cpc_pslm)

Table	4.3:	Analysis of employment (persons aged 15 or more) by economic activity 
(NACE Rev. 2), 2010 and 2015
(% of total employment)

Agriculture, forestry 
and fishing

Industry

Construction

Services

2010
5.2 
5.6 
18.8 

45.4 
22.2 
25.2 
20.6 
4.7 

2015
4.5 
7.7 
17.9 

41.3 
19.4 
20.6 
17.9 
2.3 

2010
17.6 
13.0 
23.8 

10.6 
21.0 
19.9 
21.5 
19.4 

2015
17.3 
10.8 
23.5 

11.6 
19.9 
20.0 
22.1 
18.9 

2010
7.7 
6.0 
6.2 

8.2 
5.0 
6.3 
8.9 
9.7 

2015
6.8 
6.6 
7.1 

6.9 
4.5 
7.2 
7.5 
9.6 

2010
69.5 
75.5 
51.2 

35.7 
51.8 
48.6 
49.0 
66.3 

2015
71.3 
74.8 
51.6 

40.2 
56.2 
52.2 
52.5 
69.1 

EU-28
Montenegro (1)
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (1)
Albania (1)
Serbia (2)
Turkey (3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4)
Kosovo (4)

(1)  2011 instead of 2010.
(2)  2010: includes NACE Rev. 2 Group 98.1 (undifferentiated 

goods-producing activities of private households for own 
use).

(3) Break in series.
(4) 2012 instead of 2010.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_egana, lfsa_egan2 and cpc_pslm)

40

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionLabour market

4

The share of agriculture, forestry and fishing in 
total employment fell between 2010 and 2015 
in all but one of the enlargement countries, 
the exception being Montenegro. Aside from 
Montenegro, the shift in employment away from 
agriculture, forestry and fishing was greater than 
for any of the other economic activities shown in 
Table 4.3. The largest contractions were recorded 
in Albania (2011–2015) and in Turkey, where 
the share of these activities fell by 4.1 and 4.6 
percentage points respectively.

Analysis of employment by 
working status

Just over one out of every seven people in 
employment in the EU‑28 in 2015 were self‑
employed or a family worker (see Figure 4.4); 
the vast majority (84.8 %) of the workforce 
were employees. The relative share of the 
self‑employed and family workers in total 
employment in the EU‑28 was relatively stable, 
tending to fall gradually during periods of 
economic growth and rise marginally during 

periods of more testing economic conditions (for 
example, at the height of the global financial and 
economic crisis in 2009 and 2010).

The structure of employment by working status 
was quite different in most of the enlargement 
countries. Indeed, the self‑employed and family 
workers accounted for more than half (58.0 %) 
of those working in Albania in 2015, while this 
share was close to one third of the total in Turkey 
(31.5 %), and above one quarter of the total in 
Kosovo (29.1 %), Serbia (27.5 %) and the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (25.3 %). These 
comparatively high proportions reflect, to 
some degree, the relative weight of agricultural 
activities in each of the enlargement countries, 
with work spread across numerous small scale, 
family‑run farms or farming co‑operatives. 
By contrast, the structure of employment by 
working status in Montenegro more closely 
resembled that of the EU‑28, as the share of 
self‑employed and family workers in total 
employment was 20.2 % in 2015, although in 
contrast to the situation in the EU‑28, this share 
rose in 2014 and 2015.

Figure	4.4:	Analysis of employment (persons aged 15–64) by working status, 2015
(% of total employment)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28

Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Serbia
Kosovo
Turkey
Albania (1)

(1)  Estimates.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_egaps and cpc_pslm)

Self-employed and family workers

Employees

41

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  4 Labour market

Unemployment rates

Unemployment statistics are based on a 
definition provided by the International Labour 
Organisation (ILO) which has three criteria: being 
without work, actively seeking work, and being 
available for work. An unemployed person is 
defined by Eurostat, as:

•	someone aged 15–74 years;
•	without work during the reference week;
•	available to start work within the next two 
weeks (or has already found a job to start 
within the next three months);

•	actively having sought employment at some 

time during the last four weeks.

The unemployment rate is defined, for any 
given age group, as the proportion of people 
who are unemployed as a share of the total 
labour force for that same age group. In 2015, 
the EU‑28 unemployment rate (for persons 
aged 15–74) was 9.4 % (see Figure 4.5). The 
highest unemployment rate in the enlargement 
countries was recorded in Kosovo, where just 
under one third (32.9 %) of the labour force 
were without work in 2015; relatively high 
unemployment rates were also recorded 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina (27.9 %) and in 

the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
(26.1 %). Unemployment rates in the remaining 
enlargement countries were above the EU‑28 
average and within the range of 17–18 %, 
with the exception of Turkey, where the latest 
unemployment rate (10.3 %) was much closer, if 
somewhat higher, than in the EU‑28.

While the largest contractions in economic 
activity as a result of the global financial and 
economic crisis were recorded in 2009, it was 
not uncommon to see unemployment rates 
continuing to increase in 2010 and beyond. 
Indeed, the EU‑28 annual unemployment rate 
rose from a low of 7.0 % in 2008 to reach 10.8 % 
in 2013 (see Table 4.4). However, in 2014 and 2015 
there were reductions of 0.6 and 0.8 percentage 
points in the unemployment rate of the EU‑28. 
By contrast, the situation in the enlargement 
countries was more varied. At the onset of the 
crisis (between 2008 and 2009) unemployment 
rates increased in all enlargement countries except 
for Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia; in fact, the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia recorded a fall in the 
unemployment rate every year between 2005 
and 2015. In Montenegro, the unemployment 
rate stabilised between 2010 and 2012 and 

Figure	4.5:	Unemployment rates (persons aged 15–74), 2005, 2010 and 2015
(% of labour force)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

EU-28

Kosovo (1)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Serbia (3)
Montenegro
Albania (4)
Turkey (5)

(1)  2009 instead of 2010.
(2)  2010: break in series (2005 data not based on ILO 

(4)  2010: break in series (administrative data for 2005). Estimates.
(5)  Based on 4 weeks criterion and using only active jobs search 

methodology).
(3)  2015: break in series.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_urgan and cpc_pslm)

methods.

2005

2010

2015

42

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionLabour market

Table	4.4:	Unemployment rates (persons aged 15–74), 2005–2015
(% of labour force)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania (1)
Serbia (2)
Turkey (3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4)
Kosovo

2005

8.9 
30.3 
37.3 

14.1 
20.8 
9.3
43.9 
41.4 

2007

7.1 
19.3 
34.9 

13.5 
18.1 
8.9 
29.1 
43.6 

2009

8.9 
19.1 
32.2 

13.8 
16.1 
12.7 
24.1 
45.4 

2011

9.6 
19.7 
31.4 

14.0 
22.9 
8.8 
27.6 
: 

2013

10.8 
19.5 
29.0 

15.9 
22.1 
8.8 
27.6 
30.0 

4

2015

9.4 
17.5 
26.1 

17.1 
17.6 
10.3 
27.9 
32.9 

(1)  2007: break in series (prior to this date the source was 

(3)  Based on 4 weeks criterion and using only active jobs search 

administrative data).
(2)  2015: break in series.

methods.

(4)  2007: break in series (prior to this date not based on ILO 

methodology).

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_urgan and cpc_pslm)

subsequently fell, while in Serbia it peaked in 
2012 and then fell; note, there is a break in series 
for 2015. In Bosnia and Herzegovina a similar 
development was observed, with a peak in 
the unemployment rate in 2012, followed by 
a decline, but in 2015 the rate increased again. 
In Albania and Turkey the developments were 
more complex: in Turkey, after rising in 2009, the 
unemployment rate fell to a low in 2012 before 
increasing again through to 2015; in Albania, the 
increase in 2009 was followed by a small rise 
and stability in 2010 and 2011 and then by an 
irregular sequence of decreasing and increasing 
unemployment rates, which resulted in a higher 
overall unemployment rate in 2015.

Historically, women in the EU have been more 
affected by unemployment than men. However, 
unemployment rates for the two sexes started to 
converge with the onset of the global financial 
and economic crisis and by 2009 the male 
unemployment rate was slightly higher than the 
female rate; this pattern was repeated in 2010. 
From a low of 6.6 % in 2008, the EU‑28 male 
unemployment rate rose in successive years to peak 
at 10.8 % in 2013, interrupted only by a modest 
reduction of 0.1 percentage points in 2011. The 
female unemployment rate rose for five successive 
years from a low of 7.5 % in 2008 to peak at 10.9 % 
in 2013. From the end of 2013, both male and the 

female unemployment rates began to decline; by 
2015, they stood at 9.3 % and 9.5 % respectively.

Among the enlargement countries, male 
unemployment rates were consistently lower 
than female rates in 2010 (see Table 4.5). In 
Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia this gender gap was reversed over 
the next few years, and female unemployment 
rates were lower than male rates in 2015. In 
Albania, the male unemployment rate was 
3.3 percentage points lower than the female 
unemployment rate in 2010, but by 2015 the 
gender gap had disappeared as the same 
unemployment rates were recorded for both 
sexes. In Kosovo, the male unemployment rate 
rose by 3.7 percentage points between 2012 
and 2015, while the female rate fell by a similar 
margin (− 3.4 percentage points). Nevertheless, 
the female unemployment rate in Kosovo 
remained 4.8 percentage points higher than 
the male rate in 2015. In the three remaining 
enlargement countries — Serbia, Turkey, Bosnia 
and Herzegovina — male unemployment rates 
were lower than female rates in 2010 and the 
gap widened between 2010 and 2015, with the 
difference in unemployment rates between the 
sexes peaking in 2015 at 5.0 percentage points in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina.

43

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  4 Labour market

Table	4.5:	Unemployment rates (persons aged 15–74) by sex, 2010–2015
(% of labour force)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (1)
Turkey (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

Men

Women

2010
9.6 
18.9 
31.9 

12.6 
18.4 
10.5 
25.6 
: 

2011
9.5 
19.5 
31.8 

13.6 
22.3 
8.3 
26.1 
: 

2012
10.4 
19.3 
31.5 

14.6 
23.2 
7.7 
26.5 
28.1 

2013
10.8 
20.1 
29.0 

17.8 
20.9 
8.0 
26.7 
26.9 

2014
10.1 
17.8 
27.7 

19.2 
18.3 
9.1 
25.3 
33.1 

2015
9.3 
17.7 
26.7 

17.1 
16.8 
9.3 
25.9 
31.8 

2010
9.5 
20.7 
32.2 

15.9 
20.2 
11.6 
29.9 
: 

2011
9.7 
20.0 
30.8 

14.4 
23.7 
10.1 
30.0 
: 

2012
10.5 
20.3 
30.3 

11.7 
24.9 
9.4 
30.8 
40.0 

2013
10.9 
18.8 
29.0 

13.5 
23.7 
10.6 
29.1 
38.8 

2014
10.3 
18.2 
28.6 

15.2 
20.3 
11.9 
31.2 
41.6 

2015
9.5 
17.3 
25.1 

17.1 
18.7 
12.6 
30.9 
36.6 

(1)  2014: break in series.
(2)  Based on 4 weeks criterion and using only active jobs search methods.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_urgan and cpc_pslm)

Figure	4.6:	Youth unemployment rates (persons aged 15–24), 2005, 2010 and 2015
(% of labour force)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

EU-28

Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)
Kosovo (2)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Serbia (3)
Albania (4)
Montenegro (2)(5)
Turkey (6)

(1)  2006 instead of 2005.
(2)  2012 instead of 2010.
(3)  2015: break in series.
(4)  Estimates. 2007 instead of 2005. 2010: break in series 

(administrative data for 2005).

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_urgan and cpc_pslm)

Youth unemployment concerns those aged 
15–24 years: around one fifth (20.4 %) of this 
sub‑population in the EU‑28 was without 
work in 2015, compared with 21.4 % in 2010 
(as unemployment had increased during the 
financial and economic crisis) and 19.0 % in 
2005. The youth unemployment rate in the 
EU‑28 was more than twice as high as the overall 
unemployment rate for those aged 15–74, with 
a difference of 11.0 percentage points between 
these two rates in 2015.

44

2005

2010

2015

(5)  2005: not available.
(6)  Based on 4 weeks criterion and using only active jobs search 

methods.

Turkey was the only enlargement country to 
record a youth unemployment rate (18.4 %) 
that was lower than the EU‑28 average in 2015 
(see Figure 4.6). In the remaining enlargement 
countries, more than one third of those aged 
less than 25 years old in the labour force were 
without work in Montenegro (37.6 %) and 
Albania (39.8 %), a share that rose to more than 
two fifths in Serbia (43.2 %) and the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (47.3 %), 
exceeded half of all young persons in the labour 
force in Kosovo (57.7 %), and was above three 
fifths in Bosnia and Herzegovina (62.3 %).

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionLabour market

4

Figure	4.7:	Youth unemployment rates (persons aged 15–24) by sex, 2015 (1)
(% of labour force)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

EU-28

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Serbia
Albania (2)
Montenegro
Turkey (3)

(1)  Ranked on the total youth unemployment rate (men and women).
(2)  Estimates.
(3)  Based on 4 weeks criterion and using only active jobs search methods.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: lfsa_urgan and cpc_pslm)

Men

Women

As for the EU‑28, youth unemployment rates in 
the enlargement countries tended to be about 
twice (1.8 times to 2.5 times) as high as overall 
unemployment rates in 2015. The difference 
between youth and overall unemployment rates 
peaked at 34.4 percentage points in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, while all but one of the remaining 
enlargement countries recorded a gap of 20–25 
percentage points. The difference between 
youth and overall unemployment rates in Turkey 
was considerably lower, at 8.1 percentage points.

In 2015, youth unemployment rates for women 
in the EU‑28 were 1.5 percentage points lower 
than those for young men (see Figure 4.7). 
There were two enlargement countries — the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and 
Montenegro — where youth unemployment 
rates for women were also lower. However, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo 
recorded the biggest gender gaps for youth 
unemployment rates. In all three of these 
countries, youth unemployment rates for young 
men were considerably lower than those for 
young women, with the gap rising to 13.0 
percentage points in Kosovo.

The long‑term unemployment rate concerns 
those persons who are out of work and have 
been actively seeking employment for at least a 

year. In the EU‑28 the long‑term unemployment 
rate was 4.5 % in 2015 (see Table 4.6).

Turkey was the only enlargement country to 
record a lower long‑term unemployment rate 
than that recorded for the EU‑28. Its latest rate 
for 2015 was 2.2 %, which was approximately half 
the rate in the EU‑28. Long‑term unemployment 
rates in the remaining enlargement countries 
ranged from 11.3 % in Albania and Serbia to 
23.8 % in Kosovo, which were between 2.5 times 
and 5.3 times as high as in the EU‑28.

Long‑term unemployment rates in the EU‑28 
were identical among men and women in 2015 
(see Figure 4.8). Turkey was the only enlargement 
country to record rates for either men or women 
that were below the EU‑28 averages, at 1.6 % 
for men and 3.4 % for women. Long‑term 
unemployment rates for men in the remaining 
enlargement countries were considerably higher 
than in the EU‑28, ranging from just over one 
tenth (10.6 %) of the male labour force in Serbia 
to more than one fifth in the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (20.1 %), Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (21.2 %) and Kosovo (22.6 %). 
Rates for women were generally at a similar 
(although slightly higher) level than those for 
men, ranging from just over one tenth (11.3 %) 
of the female labour force in Albania to around 

45

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  4 Labour market

Table	4.6:	Long-term unemployment rates (persons aged 15–74), 2005–2015
(% of labour force)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (1)
Turkey (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

2005

4.0 
: 
32.3 

: 
16.5 
3.5 
: 
14.4 

2007

3.0 
14.2 
29.7 

9.4 
14.6 
2.6 
25.1 
16.2 

2009

3.0 
15.6 
26.3 

9.1 
10.5 
3.2 
20.1 
16.8 

2011

4.1 
15.7 
25.9 

10.2 
16.9 
2.3 
22.3 
: 

(1)  2015: break in series.
(2)  Based on 4 weeks criterion and using only active jobs search methods.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: une_ltu_a and cpc_pslm)

2013

5.1 
16.0 
23.9 

11.5 
16.8 
2.1 
22.9 
20.7 

2015

4.5 
13.6 
21.3 

11.3 
11.3 
2.2 
22.8 
23.8 

Figure	4.8:	Long-term unemployment rates (persons aged 15–24) by sex, 2015 (1)
(% of labour force)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

EU-28

Kosovo
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Montenegro
Serbia
Albania (2)
Turkey (3)

(1)  Ranked on the total long-term unemployment rate (male and female).
(2)  Estimates.
(3)  Based on 4 weeks criterion and using only active jobs search methods.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: une_ltu_a and cpc_pslm)

Men

Women

one quarter in Bosnia and Herzegovina (25.2 %) 
and Kosovo (27.6 %). The gender gap in long‑
term unemployment rates was widest in those 
enlargement countries with the highest rates: 
the rate for women was some 5.0 percentage 
points above that recorded for men in Kosovo 

and there was a gap of 4.0 percentage points 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Montenegro was 
the only enlargement country to record a lower 
long‑term unemployment rate for women 
(13.3 %) than for men (13.6 %).

46

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition5 Economy	and	finance

5 Economy and finance

National accounts provide an internationally 
agreed standard for compiling measures of 
economic activity. These accounts record 
how economic activity is distributed among 
businesses, consumers, government and foreign 
countries, detailing key items such as production, 
consumption, savings and investment. Economic 
and financial statistics have become one of the 
cornerstones of global, regional and national 
governance.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the most 
commonly used economic indicator and the 
central measure of national accounts, which 
summarises the economic position of a country 
(or region). GDP provides information on the 
total market value of all goods and services 
produced during a given period and can be 
calculated in three different ways: based on 
output, expenditure or income.

GDP at current prices in the EU‑28 stood at 
EUR 14 693 billion in 2015. The economic output 
of the enlargement countries was considerably 
lower, as together they generated an estimated 
EUR 722 billion of GDP in 2015 (2014 data for 
Kosovo), equivalent to about one twentieth of 
the EU‑28’s GDP (see Table 5.1).

The Turkish economy was by far the largest 
among the enlargement countries, as its GDP 
rose to EUR 645 billion in 2015, which was 
almost nine tenths of the total output across all 
of the enlargement countries. While the EU‑28 
economy was more than 20 times as large as the 
Turkish economy, GDP in Turkey was almost 20 
times as high as in Serbia (EUR 34 billion in 2015), 
which — using this measure — was the second 
largest economy among the enlargement 
countries. The level of GDP in the remaining 
enlargement countries ranged from EUR 14.6 
billion in Bosnia and Herzegovina down to 
EUR 3.6 billion in Montenegro.

GDP per capita (GDP divided by the number 
of inhabitants) is often used as a measure of 
overall living standards or the competitiveness 
of an economy; it removes the influence of 
the absolute size of populations, making 
comparisons between different countries 
easier. The data presented in Table 5.2 are 
presented in euro terms. While this also facilitates 
comparisons between countries, it is important 
to remember that changes in exchange rates 
are partially responsible for some of the 
developments that may be identified.

GDP per capita in current price euro terms stood 
at EUR 28 800 in the EU‑28 in 2015. As such, GDP 

Table	5.1:	Gross domestic product (GDP), 2005–2015
(billion EUR)

2005

11 590.3 
: 
5.0 

6.5 
21.1 
386.9 
10.3 
: 

2007

12 983.2 
: 
6.1 

7.8 
29.5 
472.0 
11.5 
: 

2009

12 295.3 
: 
6.8 

8.7 
30.7 
440.4 
12.7 
4.1 

2011

13 189.2 
3.3 
7.5 

9.3 
33.4 
555.1 
13.4 
4.8 

2013

13 560.8 
3.4 
8.1 

9.6 
34.3 
618.6 
13.7 
5.3 

2015

14 693.0 
3.6 
9.1 

10.3 
33.5 
645.4 
14.6 
5.6 

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (1)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)
Kosovo (3)

(1)  Based on ESA 1995.
(2)  2006 instead of 2005.
(3)  2014 instead of 2015.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_gdp and nama_gdp_c)

48

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEconomy and finance

5

per capita in the EU‑28 was 3.5 times as high as 
in Turkey, the lowest ratio recorded among the 
enlargement countries. At the other end of the 
range, GDP per capita in the EU‑28 was 8.0 times 
as high as in Albania and peaked at 9.3 times as 
high in Kosovo (2014 data).

GDP per capita rose in the EU‑28 from 
EUR 23 400 to EUR 28 800 between 2005 
and 2015, equivalent to an overall increase 
of 23 %. Among the enlargement countries, 
Turkey recorded the highest GDP per capita in 
both 2005 and 2015. By this measure, GDP per 
inhabitant rose overall by 48 % in Turkey over 

the period 2005–2015 to reach EUR 8 300. A 
comparison between 2005 and 2015 shows that 
GDP per capita in euro terms rose particularly 
quickly in Serbia, Albania and the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, rising overall by 
between 68 % and 76 %. Note that these figures 
are in current price terms and that they do not 
therefore take account of any price increases 
(inflation) during the period under consideration.

In 2015, GDP per capita (expressed in purchasing 
power standards (PPS) and therefore adjusted to 
take account of price level differences between 
countries) averaged 28 800 PPS across the EU‑28 

Table	5.2:	Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, 2005–2015
(EUR)

2005

23 400 
: 
2 500 

2 100 
2 800 
5 600 
2 700 
: 

2007

26 000 
: 
3 000 

2 600 
4 000 
6 700 
3 000 
: 

2009

24 500 
: 
3 300 

3 000 
4 200 
6 100 
3 300 
1 900 

2011

26 100 
5 300 
3 700 

3 200 
4 600 
7 500 
3 500 
2 700 

2013

26 700 
5 400 
3 900 

3 300 
4 800 
8 200 
3 600 
2 900 

2015

28 800 
5 800 
4 400 

3 600 
4 700 
8 300 
3 800 
3 100 

EU‑28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (1)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)
Kosovo (3)

(1)  Based on ESA 1995.
(2)  2006 instead of 2005.
(3)  2014 instead of 2015.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_pc, nama_gdp_c, cpc_ecnagdp and cpc_psdemo)

Figure	5.1:	GDP per capita, 2005 and 2015 (1)
(PPs)

0

5 000

10 000

15 000

20 000

25 000

30 000

EU-28

Turkey (2)

Montenegro (3)

Serbia

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (4)

Albania (5)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (6)

(1)  Kosovo: not available.
(2)  Based on ESA 1995. 2014 instead of 2015. Break in series.
(3)  2005: not available.

(4)  2013 instead of 2015. 2013: estimate.
(5)  2015: provisional.
(6)  Based on ESA 1995. 2005: estimate.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_pc, nama_gdp_c and cpc_ecnagdp)

2005

2015

49

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  5 Economy and finance

(see Figure 5.1). A purchasing power standard 
(PPS) is an artificial currency unit; theoretically, 
after taking account of price level differences 
between countries, one PPS should buy the same 
amount of goods and services in each country.

GDP per capita in PPS terms was twice as high in the 
EU‑28 as the level recorded in Turkey, which posted 
the highest ratio among the enlargement countries, 
at 14 400 PPS (2014 data). There was a relatively 
low degree of variation across the remaining 
enlargement countries, as GDP per capita lay within 
the range of 7 800 PPS to 11 900 PPS (note there are 
no data available for Kosovo).

Price levels tend to be higher in the EU‑28 than 
they are in the enlargement countries. In 2005 
and based on information in PPS terms, GDP per 
capita in the EU‑28 was between 2.5 times as 
high as Turkey and 4.6 times as high as Albania. 
By 2015 these differences had narrowed, as GDP 
per capita in the EU‑28 ranged between 2.0 
times as high as Turkey and 3.7 times as high as 
Bosnia and Herzegovina. A comparison between 
2005 and 2015 reveals that these ratios (in 
relation to the EU‑28) narrowed for each of the 
enlargement countries.

The calculation of the real annual growth rate 
of GDP is intended to allow comparisons of the 
dynamics of economic development both over 

Table	5.3:	Real change in GDP, 2005–2015
(% change compared with previous year)

2005

2007

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (1)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)
Kosovo (2)

(1)  Based on ESA 1995.
(2)  2014 instead of 2015.

2.1 
:
4.7 

5.5 
5.5 
8.4 
3.9 
:

3.0 
:
6.5 

6.0 
5.9 
4.7 
6.0 
:

time and between economies of different sizes, 
regardless of price developments.

The global financial and economic crisis 
gathered pace during the second half of 2008. It 
affected the EU‑28 and most of the enlargement 
countries (see Table 5.3). GDP decreased (in 
real terms) by 4.4 % in the EU‑28 in 2009, with a 
rebound in activity in 2010 and 2011. Despite a 
mixed picture, the effects of the crisis were still 
being felt in several of the EU Member States in 
2012 and 2013 and this was apparent as there 
was a small fall (− 0.5 %) in EU‑28 GDP in 2012, 
followed by a modest increase (0.2 %) in 2013. 
There were signs of an upturn in economic 
activity in 2014, as real GDP growth was 1.5 %, 
with this accelerating to 2.2 % in 2015.

The impact of the crisis on the enlargement 
countries varied depending on each country’s 
economic structure and the nature of its financial 
and international trade relations with the rest 
of the world. Those countries most integrated 
into the global economy tended to be most 
affected: for example, there was a relatively 
large contraction in economic activity in Turkey 
in 2009 (down 4.8 % when adjusted for price 
changes). On the other hand, in some of the 
smaller economies that are less exposed to the 
global economy — for example, Albania or 
Kosovo — real GDP growth continued to follow 
a positive development in 2009.

2009

− 4.4 
:
− 0.4 

3.4 
− 3.1 
− 4.8 
− 2.7 
3.6 

2011

2013

2015

1.7 
:
2.3 

2.5 
1.4 
8.4 
1.0 
4.4 

0.2 
3.5 
2.9 

1.0 
2.6 
4.8 
2.5 
3.4 

2.2 
3.4 
3.7 

2.8 
0.8 
4.0 
1.1 
1.2 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_gdp, nama_gdp_k and cpc_ecnagdp)

50

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionFigure	5.2:	Development of real GDP, 2005–2015 (1)
(2010 = 100)

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

60

Economy and finance

5

EU-28

Turkey (2)

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (3)

Kosovo (4)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)(5)

Albania (6)

Serbia

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

(1)  Note that the y-axis does not start at 0. Montenegro: not 

available. 

(2)  Based on ESA 1995.
(3)  2014: provisional. 2015: estimate.

(4)  2005–2007 and 2015: not available.
(5)  2015: not available.
(6)  2014 and 2015: provisional.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_gdp, nama_gdp_k and cpc_ecnagdp)

In 2010, there was economic growth in all six 
of the seven enlargement countries for which 
data are available (no data for Montenegro), 
and the increase in economic output more 
than made up for the downturn in 2009 in the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in 
Turkey. This was particularly true for the latter, 
as the Turkish economy grew by 9.2 % in 2010 
and this pattern of renewed growth continued 
in 2011 with a further real increase of 8.4 % (the 
highest growth rates among the enlargement 
countries for 2010 and 2011). In keeping with 
the positive developments in the EU‑28 for 
2010 and 2011, there was real GDP growth 
in each of the enlargement countries during 
both of these years. The slight fall in economic 
output in the EU‑28 in 2012 (− 0.5 %) was also 
apparent in four of the enlargement countries 
(Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina), 
while real GDP growth rates recorded for the 
remaining three enlargement countries were 
consistently lower than they had been in 2011. 
In 2013, there was a return to real GDP growth 
in all of the enlargement countries and this 
pattern continued in 2014, with the exception of 
Serbia, where GDP fell by 1.8 %. Data for 2015 are 
available for five of the enlargement countries, 

all of which recorded real GDP growth, ranging 
from 0.8 % in Serbia to 4.0 % in Turkey.

Looking at developments for real GDP between 
2005 and 2015, there was an overall expansion of 
9.9 % in the economic output of the EU‑28. Real 
GDP growth rates in the enlargement countries 
were much higher, from an overall increase of 
16.1 % in Serbia up to 45.1 % in Turkey, with 
Bosnia and Herzegovina (62.6 %, 2005–2014) 
above this range.

Expenditure components of 
GDP

Within the expenditure approach for national 
accounts statistics, only governments and 
households plus non‑profit institutions serving 
households (NPISH) have final consumption; 
businesses/corporations are considered to have 
intermediate consumption. Private consumption 
expenditure of households is defined as 
expenditure on goods and services for the 
direct satisfaction of individual needs, whereas 
government consumption expenditure includes 
goods and services produced by government, 
as well as purchases of goods and services by 
government, that are supplied to households as 

51

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  5 Economy and finance

social transfers in kind. Gross capital formation 
is the sum of gross fixed capital formation, 
the change in inventories (stocks) and the net 
acquisition of valuables. The external trade 
balance is the difference between exports and 
imports of goods and services; it can be positive 
(a surplus) or negative (a deficit).

Figure 5.3 provides an analysis of the GDP 
components from the expenditure side. Final 
consumption expenditure contributed 76.9 % 
of the EU‑28’s GDP in 2015, while the share of 
gross capital formation was 19.8 % and there 
was a trade surplus in goods and services 
that contributed 3.3 % of GDP (as exports 
were valued at 43.8 % of GDP, while imports 
accounted for 40.5 %).

Across each of the enlargement countries, the 
relative share of final consumption expenditure 
was higher than in the EU‑28, largely as a result 
of higher private consumption by households, 
while the consumption of general government 
was usually lower. In 2015, final consumption 
expenditure in the enlargement countries 
contributed between 84.8 % of GDP in Turkey 
and more than 100 % in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(2013 data) and in Kosovo (2014 data). Several 

of the enlargement countries tended to invest 
a similar share of their GDP than in the EU‑28, 
although the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, Albania (2014 data) and Kosovo (2014 
data) reported notably higher contributions to 
their GDP from gross capital formation. Each of 
the enlargement countries had a negative trade 
balance: whereas the EU‑28’s trade surplus was 
equivalent to 3.3 % of GDP in 2015, among the 
enlargement countries, trade deficits ranged 
from 2.9 % of GDP in Turkey to 31.0 % of GDP in 
Kosovo (2014 data).

The change between 2005 and 2015 in the 
composition of expenditure components of 
GDP is shown in Table 5.4. Within the EU‑28, 
the share of final consumption expenditure fell 
by 0.8 percentage points, while that of gross 
capital formation was reduced by 1.8 percentage 
points. By contrast, the EU‑28’s trade balance 
contributed an increasing share of GDP, up by 2.6 
percentage points, as the trade surplus rose from 
0.7 % to 3.3 %.

There were much larger changes in the 
composition of GDP within the enlargement 
countries, which may at least in part be 
explained by their relatively small size. The 

Figure	5.3:	Expenditure components of GDP, 2015
(% relative to GDP)

−75 −50 −25

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

EU-28

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1)
Albania (1)(2)
Serbia
Turkey (3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)(4)
Kosovo (2)

Imports (5)

Final consumption expenditure

Gross capital formation

Exports

(1)  Provisional.
(2)  2014.
(3)  Based on ESA 1995.

(4)  2013.
(5)  Shown as a negative value.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_pc, nama_gdp_c and cpc_ecnagdp)

52

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5

Table	5.4:	Expenditure components of GDP, 2005 and 2015
(% relative to GDP)

Final consumption 
expenditure

Gross capital formation

Trade balance

2005

77.7 
: 
96.4 

88.0 
95.2 
83.5 
112.4 
: 

2015

76.9 
98.6 
85.1 

93.0 
90.9 
84.8 
102.8 
105.2 

2005

21.6 
: 
19.8 

37.9 
24.8 
20.0 
26.3 
: 

2015

19.8 
20.0 
31.1 

26.8 
18.9 
18.1 
17.0 
25.8 

2005

0.7 
: 
− 16.2 

− 24.9 
− 20.0 
− 3.5 
− 38.7 
: 

2015

3.3 
− 18.6 
− 16.2 

− 19.0 
− 9.7 
− 2.9 
− 19.8 
− 31.0 

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania (1)
Serbia
Turkey (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)(3)
Kosovo (1)

(1)  2014 instead of 2015.
(2)  Based on ESA 1995.
(3)  2013 instead of 2015.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_pc, nama_gdp_c and cpc_ecnagdp)

former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was the 
only country — among the five for which a time 
series is available — to report that its share of 
investment in GDP rose between 2005 and 2015, 
rising 11.3 percentage points to 31.1 %. In the 
four remaining enlargement countries there was 
a decline in the share of gross capital formation, 
the largest being registered in Albania, − 11.1 
percentage points between 2005 and 2014. 
Trade deficits as a share of GDP narrowed in all 
but one of the enlargement countries between 
2005 and 2015; the exception was the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where there 
was no change in the contribution of the 
trade balance to GDP. Bosnia and Herzegovina 
recorded the fastest reduction in the size of its 
trade deficit, as it fell from − 38.7 % of GDP to 
− 19.8 % between 2005 and 2013. There was 
a mixed pattern to the development of final 
consumption expenditure in the enlargement 
countries: between 2005 and 2015 there was an 
increase in its relative shares of GDP in Albania 
(2005–2014) and in Turkey, while three other 
enlargement countries registered a decline in 
their respective shares of final consumption 
expenditure in GDP, the largest of which was 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 

(down 11.3 percentage points between 2005 and 
2015).

Gross value added by 
economic activity

Gross value added is defined as the value of all 
newly generated goods and services less the 
value of all goods and services consumed in their 
creation. In 2015, services accounted for almost 
three quarters (73.9 %) of total gross value added 
in the EU‑28 (see Figure 5.4). This share was 
higher than in any of the enlargement countries, 
where the relative weight of services ranged 
from 52.5 % (Albania) to 72.7 % (Montenegro).

Figure 5.4 also shows that agriculture, forestry 
and fishing accounted for a considerably higher 
share of economic output in the enlargement 
countries than it did in the EU‑28. In 2015, 
agriculture, forestry and fishing contributed 
1.5 % of the EU‑28’s total value added, while its 
share among the enlargement countries ranged 
from 7.3 % in Bosnia and Herzegovina to 14.3 % 
in Kosovo (2014 data) and 22.1 % in Albania.

Aside from Serbia, where industry accounted 
for just over one quarter (25.9 %) of total 
value added in 2015, most of the enlargement 

53

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  5 Economy and finance

countries reported that industry’s share of value 
added was close to the EU‑28 average of 19.2 %. 
There were two main exceptions where the 
share of industry was relatively low: Albania 
(14.6 %) and Montenegro (12.9 %).

In each of the enlargement countries, the 
construction sector was the smallest of the four 
economic activities that are shown in Figure 5.4. 
In 2015, the relative weight of construction in 

total value added was below the EU‑28 average 
of 5.4 % in Montenegro and in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (both 4.6 %), as well as in Turkey 
(5.0 %). The share of construction was above the 
EU‑28 average in the remaining enlargement 
countries; this was particularly clear in Albania, 
where the construction sector accounted for 
more than one tenth (10.8 %) of total value 
added.

Figure	5.4:	Analysis of gross value added by economic activity (NACE Rev. 2), 2015
(% of total gross value added)

0

20

40

60

80

100

EU-28

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1)
Albania (1)
Serbia
Turkey (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
Kosovo (3)

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Industry

Construction

Services

(1)  Provisional.
(2)  Based on ESA 1995.
(3)  2014 instead of 2015.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_a10 and nama_nace10_c)

Table	5.5:	Analysis of gross value added by economic activity (NACE Rev. 2), 2005 and 2015
(% of total gross value added)

Agriculture, forestry and 
fishing

Industry and construction

Services

2005
1.7 
: 
11.3 

21.5 
12.0 
10.6 
9.9 
: 

2015
1.5 
9.8 
11.4 

22.1 
8.2 
8.5 
7.3 
14.3 

2005
26.2 
: 
23.8 

28.6 
29.3 
28.0 
25.6 
: 

2015
24.6 
17.5 
26.6 

25.4 
31.4 
26.5 
26.5 
26.7 

2005
72.1 
: 
64.9 

49.9 
58.7 
61.4 
64.5 
: 

2015
73.9 
72.7 
62.0 

52.5 
60.4 
65.0 
66.2 
59.0 

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (1)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)(2)
Kosovo (3)

(1)  Based on ESA 1995.
(2)  2006 instead of 2005.
(3)  2014 instead of 2015.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_a10 and nama_nace10_c)

54

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5

The relative importance of services to the 
enlargement economies rose between 2005 and 
2015 in four of the five enlargement countries 
for which data are available, the exception being 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (see 
Table 5.5). The biggest increase in percentage point 
terms was recorded in Turkey, where the relative 
weight of services in total value added rose by 3.6 
percentage points. The relative share of agriculture, 
forestry and fishing in total value added fell at quite 
a rapid pace in Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(2006–2015) and Serbia, while the share of industry 
and construction fell quickly in Albania.

General government deficit/
surplus

The global financial and economic crisis resulted 
in serious challenges being posed to many 
European governments. The main concerns were 
linked to the ability of national administrations 
to be able to service their debt repayments, take 
the necessary action to ensure that their public 
spending was brought under control, while at the 
same time trying to promote economic growth. 
Within the EU, multilateral economic surveillance 
was introduced through the stability and growth 
pact (SGP) which provides for the coordination 

of fiscal policies. Under the Maastricht criteria of 
the 1990s and subquently the terms of the SGP, 
Member States pledged that their government 
deficit would not exceed 3 % of GDP, while their 
debt would not exceed 60 % of GDP. EU Member 
States are required to provide the European 
Commission with their general government 
deficit and general government debt statistics 
before 1 April and 1 October of each year. From 
October 2014 onwards, candidate countries (but 
not potential candidates) were also asked to 
report EDP‑related data to Eurostat with the same 
frequency.

The general government deficit/surplus refers 
to net borrowing/net lending over the course 
of a single year by central, state and local 
government as well as social security funds. In 
2015, the average general government deficit 
across the EU‑28 stood at − 2.4 % of GDP. 
There were three enlargement countries (no 
information for Kosovo) that had public deficits 
that were more pronounced than the average 
recorded for the EU‑28, the largest being − 4.0 % 
of GDP in Albania (see Figure 5.5). By contrast, 
three other enlargement countries reported 
a general government surplus in 2015, the 
highest of these, relative to GDP, was recorded in 
Montenegro (7.7 %).

Figure	5.5:	General government deficit/surplus relative to GDP, 2015 (1)
(% of GDP)

−6

−4

−2

0

2

4

6

8

EU-28

Montenegro

Turkey

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Serbia

Albania

(1)  The government deficit data of the candidate countries and potential candidates are published 
on an ‘as is’ basis and without any assurance as regards their quality and adherence to ESA rules. 
Kosovo: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: gov_10dd_edpt1 and cpc_ecgov)

55

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  5 Economy and finance

The global financial and economic crisis 
triggered a sharp downturn in public finances 
across Europe and some countries continue to 
struggle to reduce their deficits. The average 
general government deficit of the EU‑28 was 
− 6.7 % of GDP at the height of the crisis in 2009, 
but thereafter the deficit narrowed during six 
consecutive years.

Prior to the crisis, in 2007, three of the 
enlargement countries — Albania, Serbia and 
Turkey — ran a government deficit, while the 
other three for which data are available (no 
information for Kosovo) posted surpluses of 
between 0.6 % of GDP in the former Yugoslav 

Republic of Macedonia and 6.3 % of GDP in 
Montenegro (see Table 5.6). This situation 
changed abruptly in 2008 with the onset of 
the financial and economic crisis, as all of the 
enlargement countries recorded deficits, a 
pattern which continued in 2009, as public 
deficits relative to GDP widened. Between 
2009 and 2012, each of the enlargement 
countries continued to record a government 
deficit, although in 2013 and 2014, the situation 
changed slightly as Turkey reported surpluses. 
In 2015, Turkey again reported a government 
surplus, as did Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 
Montenegro.

Table	5.6:	General government deficit/surplus relative to GDP, 2005–2015 (1)
(% of GDP)

EU-28
Montenegro (2)
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

2005

− 2.5 
− 2.0 
0.2 

− 3.5 
1.1 
− 1.2 
2.3 
– 

2007

− 0.9 
6.3 
0.6 

− 3.5 
− 1.9 
− 1.5 
1.1 
– 

2009

− 6.7 
− 5.4 
− 2.6 

− 7.1 
− 4.4 
− 6.5 
− 4.3 
: 

2011

− 4.5 
− 5.2 
− 2.5 

− 3.5 
− 4.8 
− 0.8 
− 1.2 
: 

2013

− 3.3 
− 2.3 
− 3.9 

− 5.0 
− 5.5 
0.2 
− 2.2 
: 

2015

− 2.4 
7.7 
− 3.5 

− 4.0 
− 3.8 
1.7 
0.7 
: 

(1)  The government deficit data of the candidate countries and potential candidates are published on an 

‘as is’ basis and without any assurance as regards their quality and adherence to ESA rules.

(2)  2005: low reliability.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: gov_10dd_edpt1 and cpc_ecgov)

General government debt

General government debt is the gross debt 
outstanding at the end of the year of the general 
government sector measured at nominal (face) 
value; in other words, it is the accumulated total 
debt (over the years). In 2015, the government 
debt‑to‑GDP ratio for the EU‑28 was 85.2 %. 
This indicator was consistently lower — 
sometimes considerably so — across the 
enlargement countries: Kosovo had the lowest 
debt‑to‑GDP ratio (12.9 %); Turkey, the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bosnia 
and Herzegovina had ratios ranging from just 

over 30 % to just over 40 %; debt ratios were 
over 50 % in the other enlargement countries, 
peaking at 76.4 % in Serbia.

General government debt across the EU‑28 
stood at 57.8 % in 2007 and rose each year to a 
peak of 86.8 % in 2014, before falling to 85.2 % 
in 2015 (see Table 5.7). In 2007, prior to the onset 
of the financial and economic crisis, the ratio 
of general government debt‑to‑GDP in the 
enlargement countries ranged from 18.1 % in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina to 53.4 % in Albania; 
note that Kosovo reported no debt prior to 
2009. Following the onset of the crisis in 2008, 
government debt relative to GDP increased in 

56

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEconomy and finance

5

three of the enlargement countries and in 2009 
this pattern spread as the ratio increased in each 
of the enlargement countries.

A comparison between the levels of government 
debt in 2005 and 2015 reveals that the share 
of debt to GDP was 23.4 percentage points 
higher in 2015 in the EU‑28; a similar pattern was 

recorded in Montenegro (+24.7 points) and in 
Serbia (+27.7 points). By contrast, similar levels 
of debt (as a share of GDP) were recorded in 
2005 and 2015 in the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia, while the debt‑to‑GDP ratio in 
Turkey was cut from 55.2 % to 31.3 %.

Figure	5.6:	General government consolidated gross debt relative to GDP, 2015 (1)
(% of GDP)

 0

 10

 20

 30

 40

 50

 60

 70

 80

 90

EU-28

Serbia

Albania

Montenegro

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Turkey

Kosovo (2)

(1)  The government debt data of the candidate countries and potential candidates are published on 
an ‘as is’ basis and without any assurance as regards their quality and adherence to ESA rules.

(2)  The value of GDP is obtained from the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: gov_10dd_edpt1 and cpc_ecgov)

Table	5.7:	General government consolidated gross debt relative to GDP, 2005–2015 (1)
(% of GDP)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo (2)

2005

61.8 
38.6 
36.7 

57.4 
48.7 
55.2 
24.9 
– 

2007

57.8 
27.5 
23.5 

53.4 
30.1 
41.3 
18.1 
– 

2009

73.0 
38.2 
23.6 

59.7 
32.1 
45.7 
25.2 
5.9 

2011

81.0 
46.0 
27.7 

59.4 
47.0 
37.0 
32.8 
5.3 

(1)  The government debt data of the candidate countries and potential candidates are 
published on an ‘as is’ basis and without any assurance as regards their quality and 
adherence to ESA rules.

(2)  2009–2015: the value of GDP is obtained from the Medium Term Expenditure Framework 

(various years).

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: gov_10dd_edpt1 and cpc_ecgov)

2013

85.5 
58.0 
34.0 

70.4 
61.1 
31.1 
37.7 
9.0 

2015

85.2 
63.3 
38.0 

72.5 
76.4 
31.3 
41.9 
12.9 

57

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  5 Economy and finance

Consumer prices

The all‑items harmonised index of consumer 
prices remained at relatively low levels across 
the EU during the period 2005–2015. The rate of 
annual price increases peaked at 3.7 % in 2008, 
although the effects of the global financial and 
economic crisis caused a rapid slowdown in price 
increases in 2009 when a relative low of 1.0 % 
was recorded. Thereafter, prices in the EU‑28 rose 
by 2.1 % in 2010 and by 3.1 % in 2011, before the 
pace of price increases slowed and eventually 
came to a halt in 2015, when there was no overall 
change in consumer prices (see Figure 5.7).

Consumer price increases in the enlargement 
countries over the period 2005–2015 were 
generally higher than those recorded across the 
EU‑28; this could, at least in part, be attributed 
to the deregulation of prices which formed 
part of the liberalisation process undertaken in 

several enlargement economies. Following a 
relative peak in 2008, in most of the enlargement 
countries prices fell or rose at a relatively slow 
pace in 2009, before accelerating somewhat 
in 2010 and 2011 and then returning to more 
modest increases or price falls in 2013–2015.

The latest information available for each of the 
enlargement countries shows that consumer 
price increases in 2015 remained in single‑
digits. Turkey (7.7 %) continued to record price 
increases that were higher than those for the 
other enlargement countries. Elsewhere, price 
increases peaked at 2.0 % in Albania and 1.9 % 
in Serbia; for Serbia this was the lowest increase 
in the period shown in Figure 5.7 and was in 
contrast to the relatively high price increases 
that were recorded up to 2013. Modest price 
reductions were recorded in the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo and Bosnia and 
Herzegovina in 2015.

Figure	5.7:	Annual change in consumer prices, 2005–2015
(%)
20

15

10

5

0

-5

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

EU-28 (1)

Turkey (1)

Albania (2)

Serbia

Montenegro

The former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia

Kosovo (3)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (4)

(1)  Based on harmonised index of consumer prices.
(2)  2005–2009: variation in consumer prices between December 
of one year compared with December of the previous year.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: prc_hicp_aind and cpc_ecprice)

(3)  2015: based on harmonised index of consumer prices. 
(4)  2005: based on retail price index. 2013: estimate.

58

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEconomy and finance

5

Current account

The balance of payments is a record of an 
economy’s international transactions with the 
rest of the world. The current account balance is 
made up of four parts, concerning trade in goods 
and services, as well as different types of income 
and transfers. A positive balance indicates net 
lending to the rest of the world, while a negative 
balance indicates net borrowing from the rest of 
the world.

In 2015, the EU‑28 recorded a positive balance 
for both goods and services, whereas all of the 
enlargement countries reported a negative 
balance for goods and a positive balance for 

services. The size of the current account deficit 
for goods was relatively large in most of the 
enlargement countries, reaching − 37.0 % of GDP 
in Kosovo (2014 data) and − 40.4 % of GDP in 
Montenegro. By contrast, Montenegro recorded 
the highest current account surplus for services 
(21.8 % of GDP), largely as a result of receipts 
from its tourism sector.

The EU‑28 reported a small negative balance 
for primary and for secondary income, relative 
to its GDP (− 0.3 % and − 0.5 % respectively). By 
contrast, there was a positive balance for current 
transfers in each of the enlargement countries; 
these include, for example, worker’s remittances, 
donations, development aid and tax payments.

Table	5.8:	Current account balance by component, 2015 (1)
(% of GDP)

Goods

Services

Primary income

Secondary income/
current transfers

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo (2)

0.9 
− 40.4 
− 20.1 

− 22.4 
− 11.9 
− 6.7 
− 26.0 
− 37.0 

1.0 
21.8 
3.8 

5.1 
2.2 
3.4 
7.3 
6.0 

− 0.3 
2.6 
− 2.5 

− 1.0 
− 5.0 
− 1.3 
0.5 
2.0 

− 0.5 
2.7 
17.4 

7.5 
10.0 
0.2 
12.5 
21.1 

(1)  Based on the 6th edition of the IMF’s balance of payments manual, except for data for 

Montenegro and Turkey which are based on the 5th edition.

(2)  2014.

Source:  Eurostat (online data codes: bop_eu6_q, bop_c6_q, nama_10_gdp, nama_gdp_c, 

cpc_ecbop and cpc_ecnagdp)

59

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  5 Economy and finance

Foreign direct investment

Flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) result 
from investors building up or reducing their 
assets abroad by investing in or disinvesting from 
foreign companies. Such flows are notoriously 
erratic, with big changes from one year to the 
next as investment decisions are often lumpy.

Outward investment from the EU‑28 (into 
non‑member countries) stood at EUR 96 billion 
in 2015, while inward investment from non‑
member countries was valued at EUR 119 billion; 
note that there is a break in series with a new 
methodology having been implemented. The 
EU has traditionally been a net outward investor 
of foreign direct investment: however, in 2015 
the EU was a net recipient of FDI, to the value of 
EUR 22.9 billion (see Table 5.9).

Each of the enlargement countries also recorded 
a higher level of FDI inflows than outflows; this 
was the case in both 2005 and 2015. Together 
the enlargement countries had a combined 
level of inward FDI valued at EUR 19.6 billion in 
2015. Turkey was by far the largest beneficiary, 
accounting for more than three quarters (77.7 %) 

of this inward FDI among the enlargement 
countries. The level of outward FDI from the 
enlargement countries was considerably lower. 
Indeed, some of the enlargement countries 
recorded negative flows of outward FDI, in 
other words, disinvestment, which occurs when 
previous investments are withdrawn from 
foreign enterprises (perhaps to consolidate 
operations in domestic markets). In absolute 
terms, the only substantial outward flow of FDI 
from an enlargement country was in relation to 
FDI from Turkey, which was valued at EUR 4.6 
billion in 2015.

In an increasingly globalised world it 
is unsurprising to find that there was a 
considerable increase in the value of FDI flows 
over the most recent 10‑year period for which 
data are available. There was rapid growth in 
the value of inward FDI in the majority of the 
enlargement countries, the exception being 
Bosnia and Herzegovina where the level of 
inward FDI was approximately the same in 2015 
as it had been in 2005. By contrast, inward FDI 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
Kosovo and Albania was two to four times as 
high in 2015 as it had been in 2005.

Table	5.9:	Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, 2005 and 2015
(million EUR)

Inward FDI

Outward FDI

Net inward

EU (1)
Montenegro (2)
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (3)
Albania (2)
Serbia (2)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
Kosovo (3)

2005
129 714 
403 
77 

213 
1 268 
8 063 
282 
108 

2015
118 944 
630 
157 

890 
2 114 
15 233 
264 
324 

2005
239 880 
4 
2 

3 
18 
855 
0 
0 

2015
96 071 
11 
− 14 

72 
310 
4 591 
43 
37 

2005
− 110 166 
399 
75 

209 
1 250 
7 208 
282 
108 

2015
22 872 
619 
171 

818 
1 804 
10 642 
221 
287 

(1)  2005: EU-27 and extra EU-27 flows. 2014 instead of 2015: EU-28 
and extra EU-28 flows; based on the 6th edition of the IMF’s 
balance of payments manual.

(2)  2015: based on the 6th edition of the IMF’s balance of 

payments manual.

(3)  Based on the 6th edition of the IMF’s balance of payments 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: bop_fdi_main, bop_fdi6_flow and cpc_ecbop)

manual.

60

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition6 International	trade	

in	goods

6 International trade in goods

The EU has a common international trade policy, 
often referred to as the common commercial 
policy. In other words, the EU acts as a single 
entity on trade issues, including issues related 
to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In these 
cases, the European Commission negotiates 
trade agreements and represents Europe’s 
interests on behalf of the EU Member States.

Trade relations between the EU and the 
enlargement countries are designed to remove 
or reduce customs tariffs in bilateral trade 
and for this purpose specific stabilisation and 
association agreements have been reached with 
six enlargement countries; the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (2004), Albania (2006), 
Montenegro (2010), Serbia (2013), Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (2015) and Kosovo (2016). The EU’s 
trade relationship with Turkey is somewhat 
different as Turkey has, since the end of 1995, 
been a member of the customs union, which 
eliminates all customs duties for bilateral trade 
and establishes joint customs tariffs as regards 
foreign imports.

Trade flows

In 2015, the total value of the goods exported 
from the EU‑28 to the rest of the world (non‑
member countries) was 71 % higher than its 
level in 2005 (see Table 6.1). There was an even 
faster development to international trade flows 
for most of the enlargement countries over the 
same period, as some countries made reforms 
to develop market‑based economic systems, 
while others continued to see trading patterns 
re‑established following the end of the Balkans 
conflicts. The value of exports from Turkey, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia more than doubled, 
while those from Serbia more than trebled; 
exports of goods from Kosovo were more than 
six times as high in 2015 than 10 years earlier, 
while in Albania they were almost 11 times as 
high. By contrast, the value of exports from 

62

Montenegro fell by more than a quarter between 
2005 and 2015.

In 2015, exports of goods from the EU‑28 were 
valued at EUR 1 791 billion, while the combined 
value of exports from the seven enlargement 
countries was EUR 152 billion, equivalent to 8.5 % 
of the EU‑28 total. Exports from Turkey in 2015 
were valued at EUR 130 billion. As such, Turkey 
accounted for more than four fifths (85.2 %) of 
the total value of exports from the enlargement 
countries. Serbia had the second highest 
share (7.5 %), while the third highest share was 
recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina (3.0 %).

The total value of EU‑28 imports of goods rose 
at a somewhat slower pace when compared 
with the pace of growth for exports. There 
was an overall increase of 46 % in the value of 
EU‑28 imports between 2005 and 2015. All of 
the enlargement countries except for Bosnia 
and Herzegovina recorded a faster expansion 
of imports than in the EU, with imports at 
least doubling in Kosovo, the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.

In 2015, imports of goods into the EU‑28 were 
valued at EUR 1 726 billion, while the combined 
value of imports into the seven enlargement 
countries was EUR 223 billion, equivalent to 
12.9 % of the EU‑28 total. Turkey imported goods 
that were valued at EUR 187 billion in 2015, which 
equated to 83.6 % of the total value of imports 
from the seven enlargement countries. Serbia 
had the second highest share (6.5 %), while the 
third highest share was recorded in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (3.6 %).

The trade balance is the difference between 
the monetary value of exports and imports. 
A positive trade balance is known as a trade 
surplus and a negative trade balance is known as 
a trade deficit. The EU‑28 recorded a trade deficit 
for goods in 2005 that was valued at EUR 134 
billion. However, as exports grew at a faster pace 
than imports, the EU’s trade balance turned 
positive in 2012 and this pattern continued 

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionInternational trade in goods

6

Table	6.1:	International trade in goods, 2005 and 2015
(million EUR)

Inward FDI

Outward FDI

Net inward

EU (1)
Montenegro (2)
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (3)
Albania (2)
Serbia (2)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
Kosovo (3)

2005
129 714 
403 
77 

213 
1 268 
8 063 
282 
108 

2015
118 944 
630 
157 

890 
2 114 
15 233 
264 
324 

2005
239 880 
4 
2 

3 
18 
855 
0 
0 

(1)  Extra-EU-28 trade (trade with non-member countries).

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: ext_lt_intertrd and ext_lt_intercc)

2015
96 071 
11 
− 14 

72 
310 
4 591 
43 
37 

2005
− 110 166 
399 
75 

209 
1 250 
7 208 
282 
108 

2015
22 872 
619 
171 

818 
1 804 
10 642 
221 
287 

during the period 2013–2015, with the EU‑28 
trade surplus growing to reach EUR 64 billion.

None of the enlargement countries registered 
a trade surplus for goods in either 2005 or 2015. 
Together these seven countries recorded a 
trade deficit of EUR 48 billion in 2005, which had 
grown to EUR 71 billion by 2015. Between 2005 
and 2015, the size of the Turkish trade deficit 
widened from EUR 35 billion to EUR 57 billion. 
This pattern of a deteriorating trade balance was 
repeated in most of the enlargement countries, 
as Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina were the 
only exceptions to report that their trade deficit 
was narrower in 2015 than in 2005. The trade 
deficit in Montenegro was three times as high in 
2015 as it had been in 2005, while the deficit in 
Kosovo doubled over this 10‑year period.

One indicator that may be used to analyse the 
relative importance of international trade in 
goods is the value of exports and/or imports 
expressed relative to the gross domestic product 
(GDP) — see Figure 6.1. Note that the export and 
import values used in this calculation are based 
on national accounts data, rather than statistics 
for the international trade of goods, and these 
may differ for methodological reasons.

EU‑28 exports of goods in 2015 corresponded to 
31.8 % of GDP, while imports were equivalent to 

29.8 % of GDP; note that these data include trade 
between EU Member States. The ratio of exports 
of goods relative to GDP was slightly above 
the EU‑28 average in Serbia (33.9 %) and the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (33.5 %), 
but considerably lower in Albania (2014 data), 
Montenegro, and Kosovo (2014 data), where the 
value of exports was less than 10 % of GDP.

Subject to data availability (no information 
available for Turkey or for Bosnia and 
Herzegovina), all of the enlargement countries 
were more open to imports than the EU‑28; this 
was particularly the case for some of the smaller 
economies. The value of imports of goods into 
the enlargement countries ranged from 31.6 % of 
GDP in Albania (2014 data) up to 53.7 % of GDP 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
in 2015.

Figure 6.2 shows the structural nature of the 
trade balance’s contribution to GDP during the 
period 2005–2015, with the impact of trade in 
goods as a fraction of GDP relatively stable in the 
EU‑28 and most of the enlargement countries. 
In 2015, the EU‑28’s trade surplus in goods was 
equivalent to 2.0 % of GDP, while the deficit 
for trade in goods among the enlargement 
countries ranged from 6.4 % of GDP in Turkey 
to 40.3 % of GDP in Montenegro. Between 2005 

63

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  6 International trade in goods

and 2015 (and subject to data availability), there 
was generally little change in the trade balance 
for goods relative to GDP; the main exception 

was Serbia, where the trade deficit as a share of 
GDP narrowed from − 19.5 % in 2005 to − 11.9 % 
by 2015.

Figure	6.1:	International trade in goods, 2015 (¹)
(% of GDP)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

EU-28

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Serbia

Montenegro

Kosovo (2)

Albania (2)

(1)  Ranked on the combined shares of exports and imports. Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina: not available.
(2)  2014.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: nama_10_gdp)

Exports

Imports

Figure	6.2:	Trade balance for goods, 2005–2015 (1)
(% of GDP)

10

0

−10

−20

−30

−40

−50

EU-28

Turkey (2)

Serbia

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (3)

Albania (4)

Kosovo (5)

Montenegro (6)

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

(1)  Bosnia and Herzegovina: not available.
(2)  Based on ESA 1995.
(3)  2015: provisional.

(4)  2014: provisional; 2015: not available.
(5)  2005–2007 and 2015: not available.
(6)  2005–2009: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_gdp and nama_gdp_c)

64

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionInternational trade in goods

6

Structure of trade analysed by 
broad product groups

Several classifications are used for collecting and 
analysing international trade statistics, including 
the standard international trade classification 
(SITC). The SITC includes 10 headings at its 
highest level, some of which have been 
aggregated further for the purposes of this 
publication.

An analysis of exports by selected product 
groups (based on the SITC) is shown in Table 6.2. 
Machinery and vehicles accounted for the 
highest proportion of goods exported from the 
EU‑28 in 2015, with a 42.0 % share of the total. 
This was considerably higher than the shares 
recorded for other manufactured goods (22.5 %; 
SITC Sections 6 and 8) and chemicals (17.6 %), 
while each of the remaining goods categories 
accounted for less than 10 % of total EU‑28 
exports.

Other manufactured goods accounted for the 
highest share of total exports in each of the 
enlargement countries in 2015. These goods 
accounted for more than half of all the goods 
exported from Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia and 

Herzegovina, a share that fell to slightly more 
than two fifths of the total in Turkey, and to 
just above one third of the total in the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro 
and Serbia. The share of other manufactured 
goods in total exports was therefore consistently 
higher among the enlargement countries than 
their corresponding share of total EU‑28 exports 
(22.5 %).

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
was the only enlargement country to report 
that chemicals accounted for more than one 
tenth of its total exports in 2015, their share 
rising to 22.8 % (which was therefore above 
the corresponding share recorded in the EU‑28; 
17.6 %). Albania recorded a relatively high share 
(18.1 %) of its total exports in 2015 for mineral 
fuels, lubricants and related goods. Albania 
and Bosnia and Herzegovina were the only 
enlargement countries to report that the share 
of their total exports from food, drinks and 
tobacco was lower than 10 %, but each of their 
shares remained just above the average recorded 
for the EU‑28 (6.3 %); note the EU‑28 figure 
excludes intra‑EU trade, which may be relatively 
important, especially for perishables.

Table	6.2:	Exports by broad group of goods, 2015
(% of total exports)

Food, 
drinks and 
tobacco

Raw 
materials

Mineral 
fuels, 
lubricants 
and related 
goods

Chemicals

Machinery 
and 
vehicles

Other 
manufac-
tured 
goods

Other

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

6.3 
16.7 
11.1 

6.9 
19.5 
10.8 
7.2 
12.3 

2.4 
20.2 
5.3 

9.1 
4.8 
3.2 
12.2 
17.2 

4.8 
14.8 
1.2 

18.1 
2.8 
3.0 
7.0 
6.5 

(1)  Extra-EU-28 trade (trade with non-member countries).

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: ext_lt_intertrd and ext_lt_intercc)

17.6 
4.1 
22.8 

1.2 
8.6 
5.8 
7.1 
4.0 

42.0 
9.5 
24.7 

4.5 
28.6 
27.3 
14.6 
4.3 

22.5 
34.7 
35.0 

60.0 
34.3 
43.4 
50.3 
54.2 

4.4 
0.0 
0.0 

0.2 
1.5 
6.6 
1.6 
1.5 

65

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  6 International trade in goods

Machinery and vehicles (31.0 %), other 
manufactured products (26.1 %) and mineral 
fuels, lubricants and related goods (19.0 %) 
accounted for the highest shares of goods 
imported into the EU‑28 in 2015; the next 
most common group of imported goods was 
chemicals (10.7 %). As for exports, the category 
of other manufactured goods generally 
accounted for the highest share of total 
imports among the enlargement countries (see 
Table 6.3), these products generally accounting 
for one quarter to one third of all imports in 2015. 

There were two exceptions: in Turkey the share 
of other manufactured goods was relatively low 
(23.4 %), while the share of imports of machinery 
and vehicles (31.6 %) was much higher; in the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, other 
manufactured goods accounted for a particularly 
high share of total imports (42.2 %).

Table 6.4 shows the trade balance for selected 
product groups in 2015. In the EU‑28, the highest 
trade surplus was recorded for machinery and 
vehicles (EUR 218 billion), while a surplus was 

Table	6.3:	Imports by broad group of goods, 2015
(% of total imports)

Food, 
drinks and 
tobacco

Raw 
materials

Mineral 
fuels, 
lubricants 
and related 
goods

Chemicals

Machinery 
and 
vehicles

Other 
manufac-
tured 
goods

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

6.3 
24.3 
10.6 

16.3 
9.0 
3.5 
16.6 
22.7 

4.2 
3.2 
4.2 

3.6 
5.0 
6.9 
3.8 
3.4 

19.0 
10.8 
10.9 

10.1 
13.3 
6.9 
13.5 
12.8 

10.7 
10.5 
11.9 

11.8 
17.2 
13.9 
13.1 
11.9 

31.0 
22.1 
20.2 

21.0 
25.8 
31.6 
20.5 
17.7 

26.1 
29.0 
42.2 

36.7 
29.7 
23.4 
32.4 
31.4 

Other

2.7 
0.0 
0.1 

0.5 
0.1 
13.7 
0.1 
0.2 

(1)  Extra-EU-28 trade (trade with non-member countries).

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: ext_lt_intertrd and ext_lt_intercc)

Table	6.4:	Trade balance by broad group of goods, 2015
(EUR million)

Food, 
drinks and 
tobacco

Raw 
materials

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

5 180 
− 394 
− 160 

− 513 
938 
7 508 
− 1 009 
− 557 

− 28 809 
5 
− 27 

16 
− 173 
− 8 843 
250 
− 34 

Mineral 
fuels, 
lubricants 
and related 
goods

− 243 166 
− 152 
− 580 

− 78 
− 1 596 
− 9 071 
− 773 
− 316 

Chemicals

Machinery 
and 
vehicles

129 889 
− 181 
235 

− 438 
− 1 508 
− 18 442 
− 739 
− 300 

218 044 
− 378 
− 166 

− 738 
− 450 
− 23 614 
− 991 
− 453 

Other 
manufac-
tured 
goods

− 47 641 
− 425 
− 1 023 

− 387 
− 360 
12 570 
− 315 
− 651 

Other

30 671 
0 
− 5 

− 16 
165 
− 17 089 
67 
1 

(1)  Extra-EU-28 trade (trade with non-member countries).

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: ext_lt_intertrd and ext_lt_intercc)

66

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionalso reported for chemicals (EUR 130 billion), 
other goods (EUR 31 billion) and food, drinks 
and tobacco (EUR 5 billion). By contrast, deficits 
were recorded for raw materials (EUR 29 billion), 
other manufactured goods (EUR 48 billion) 
and mineral fuels, lubricants and related goods 
(EUR 243 billion).

Among the enlargement countries it was 
commonplace to find that only one of the 
product groups had a trade surplus in 2015. This 
was the case for raw materials in Montenegro 
and in Albania, for chemicals in the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and for other 
goods in Kosovo. There were two product 
groups in Serbia and Turkey which recorded 
trade surpluses, in each case one of these two 
groups was food, drink and tobacco products.

Trade between the 
enlargement countries and the 
EU-28

Due to its close geographic proximity, it is not 
surprising to find that the EU is one of the main 
trading partners of the enlargement countries. 
Figure 6.3 shows the relative importance of 
the EU‑28 as a trading partner in 2015, with 
approximately three quarters of all exports 
leaving Albania and the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia destined for the EU‑28, 

International trade in goods

6

with Bosnia and Herzegovina recording a slightly 
smaller share (71.6 %). Just over two thirds of 
all exports from Serbia were destined for the 
EU‑28, as were more than two fifths of exports 
from Turkey. The two remaining enlargement 
countries — Montenegro and Kosovo — 
reported that the EU‑28 accounted for nearer to 
one third of their total exports.

In 2015, around three fifths of all imports made 
by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia 
originated from the EU‑28. These four countries 
had the highest propensity for importing goods 
from the EU‑28, while nearer to two fifths of all 
imports into Kosovo, Montenegro and Turkey 
originated in the EU‑28.

Table 6.5 provides information on international 
trade flows of goods between the EU‑28 and 
the enlargement countries for the years 2005 
and 2015. The total value of exports from the 
enlargement countries to the EU‑28 was EUR 73 
billion in 2015, while goods imported from the 
EU‑28 into the enlargement countries were valued 
at EUR 92 billion. Exports from the enlargement 
countries to the EU‑28 rose by 90.3 % overall 
between 2005 and 2015, while imports from the 
EU‑28 increased by 70.6 %; note these figures 
exclude Bosnia and Herzegovina, for which only a 
partial set of data exists.

Figure	6.3:	International trade in goods with the EU-28, 2015 (¹)
(% share of total exports and imports)

0

20

40

60

80

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Serbia

Turkey

Montenegro

Kosovo

(1)  Ranked on the share of exports destined for the EU-28.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: ext_lt_intercc)

Exports

Imports

67

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  6 International trade in goods

Turkey accounted for more than three quarters 
of the goods exported to (78.7 %) and imported 
from (77.1 %) the EU‑28, and also had, by far, the 
largest trade deficit for goods with the EU‑28, 
at EUR 13.3 billion in 2015. The next largest 
trade deficits for goods — within the range of 
EUR 1.0–1.6 billion — were recorded for Kosovo, 
Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

An alternative measure for analysing the 
development of trading patterns between the 
EU‑28 and the enlargement countries is shown in 
Figure 6.4. The cover ratio is calculated by dividing 
the value of exports destined for the EU‑28 by the 
value of imports originating from the EU‑28; a ratio 
of 100 % is recorded when exports and imports 

are balanced (in other words, they have identical 
values). In 2015, the cover ratio for trade in goods 
between the enlargement countries and the 
EU‑28 was consistently below 100 %, underlining 
that each of these countries ran a trade deficit 
with the EU‑28. Montenegro and Kosovo recorded 
the lowest cover ratios among the enlargement 
countries for trade in goods with the EU‑28 in 
2015, at 14.9 % and 9.5 % respectively; in other 
words, the value of goods imported into Kosovo 
and originating in the EU‑28 was approximately 
10 times as high as the value of exports leaving 
Kosovo and destined for the EU‑28. The highest 
cover ratio was recorded in Serbia, at 92.8 %, while 
ratios above 50 % were recorded in the other 
enlargement countries.

Table	6.5:	Trade in goods with the EU-28, 2005 and 2015
(million EUR)

Exports 
to the EU-28

Imports 
from the EU-28

Trade balance 
with the EU-28

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

2005
253 
1 001 

120 
2 036 
33 341 
: 
19 

Source: Eurostat (online data code: ext_lt_intercc)

2015
113 
3 126 

1 303 
7 672 
57 637 
3 291 
106 

2005
470 
1 484 

1 495 
4 800 
42 266 
: 
478 

2015
760 
3 586 

2 398 
8 266 
70 893 
4 930 
1 113 

2005
− 218 
− 483 

− 1 007 
− 2 764 
− 8 925 
: 
− 459 

2015
− 647 
− 460 

− 1 094 
− 594 
− 13 255 
− 1 639 
− 1 007 

Figure	6.4:	Cover ratio for trade in goods with the EU-28, 2005 and 2015
(%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Serbia

Turkey

Bosnia and Herzegovina (1)

Albania

Montenegro

Kosovo

(1)  2005: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: ext_lt_intercc)

68

2005

2015

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition7 Agriculture,	forestry	

and	fishing

7 Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Agriculture was one of the first sectors of the 
economy (following coal and steel) to receive 
the attention of EU policymakers, and statistics 
on agriculture were initially designed to monitor 
the main objectives of the common agricultural 
policy (CAP). While the CAP remains one of 
the EU’s most important policies there have 
been wide ranging reforms, which has led to 
a range of new objectives designed to correct 
imbalances and overproduction. In December 
2013, the latest reform of the CAP was formally 
adopted by the European Parliament and the 
Council. The main elements of the CAP post‑2013 
concern: a fairer distribution of direct payments 
(with targeted support and convergence goals); 
strengthening the position of farmers within 
the food production chain (such as through: the 
promotion of professional and inter‑professional 
organisations; changes to the organisation of 
the sugar and wine sectors; revisions to public 
intervention and private storage aid; and 
new crisis management tools); and continued 
support for rural development, safeguarding the 
environment and biodiversity.

Gross value added and 
employment

The share of agriculture, forestry and fishing (as 
defined by NACE Rev. 2 Section A) in total gross 
value added was considerably higher in the 
enlargement countries than it was in the EU‑28. 
In 2015, the relative weight of agriculture, forestry 
and fishing was 1.5 % of total value added in the 
EU‑28 (see Figure 7.1), while among enlargement 
countries, the lowest shares were recorded for 
Turkey and for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2014 
data), at 7.1 %. Agriculture, forestry and fishing 
contributed close to one tenth of total value 
added in Montenegro and the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, with this share rising 

to 14.3 % in Kosovo (2014 data) and peaking at 
22.1 % in Albania.

Between 2005 and 2015 the relative contribution 
of agriculture, forestry and fishing to value added 
in the EU‑28 fell from 1.7 % to 1.5 %. Serbia, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2005–2014) and Turkey 
(2005–2014) also recorded a decline in their 
respective shares of value added from these 
activities, with the largest fall − 3.8 percentage 
points — in Serbia. By contrast, the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia recorded a very 
slight increase in the share of agriculture, forestry 
and fishing in total value added, while in Albania 
the share of these activities increased by 0.6 
percentage points. 

There was a somewhat different picture when 
analysing the share of agriculture, forestry 
and fishing in total employment. For example, 
employment within agriculture, forestry and 
fishing in the EU‑28 accounted for 4.2 % of the 
total number of persons employed in 2015, some 
2.8 times the contribution of these activities to 
total value added. These differences indicate 
that agriculture, forestry and fishing are relatively 
labour‑intensive activities with a low level of 
labour productivity. Between 2005 and 2015, the 
contribution of agriculture, forestry and fishing to 
the total number of persons employed fell by 0.4 
percentage points (in keeping with longer‑term 
falls).

Among the enlargement countries, Kosovo 
(2.3 %) recorded the lowest employment share for 
agriculture, forestry and fishing, while Montenegro 
(7.7 %) was the only other enlargement country 
to report a share that was below a threshold 
of 10.0 %. By contrast, close to one fifth of the 
workforce was employed in agriculture, forestry 
and fishing activities in 2015 in most of the other 
enlargement countries, although in Albania this 
share rose as high as 41.3 %.

70

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionAgriculture, forestry and fishing

7

Figure	7.1:	Share of agriculture, forestry and fishing (NACE Rev. 2), 2015 (1)
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

EU-28

Albania (2)(3)
Kosovo (4)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (3)
Montenegro
Serbia
Turkey (5)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (6)

(1)  Ranked on value added.
(2)  Employment: estimates.
(3)  Value added: provisional.
(4)  Value added: 2014.
(5)  Employment: 2012; includes NACE Rev. 2 Group 98.1 

(undifferentiated goods-producing activities of private 

Value added

Employment

households for own use). Value added: 2014; shares calculated 
as a percentage of value added plus taxes and subsidies minus 
financial intermediation services indirectly measured (FISIM); 
based on ESA 1995.

(6)  Value added: 2014; based on ESA 1995.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nama_10_a10, cpc_ecnabrk, lfsa_egana, lfsa_egan2 and cpc_pslm)

Land use

The utilised agricultural area refers to the 
land area that is actually used for agricultural 
purposes. This land used for farming includes 
arable land, permanent grassland, permanent 
crops (such as orchards, olive trees and 
vineyards) and other agricultural land such as 
kitchen gardens; it does not include forests and 
wooded areas.

The area within each country that is used for 
farming varies according to climate, terrain 
and soil type, while the level of economic 
development and population density may also 
play a role in determining land use. Within the 
EU‑28, roughly equal proportions of the total 
area (land area and the area covered by water 
bodies) are used for farming and for forestry, 
with the remainder being built‑up areas (villages, 
towns and cities), infrastructure (roads or 
railways), scrub or waste land.

In 2015, the utilised agricultural area of the EU‑28 
was 179 million hectares. The combined utilised 
agricultural area of the seven enlargement 
countries was around 47 million hectares, which 
was equivalent to just over one quarter of the 
EU‑28 total. Among the enlargement countries, 
Turkey had by far the largest utilised agricultural 
area, some 39 million hectares.

The utilised agricultural area in the EU‑28 
accounted for 39.9 % of its total area in 2014. 
Figure 7.2 shows that among the enlargement 
countries, the share of the utilised agricultural 
area in 2015 was quite close to the EU‑28 
average in Kosovo and Albania, while agriculture 
accounted for a higher share of the total area in 
Serbia (44.8 %), rising to close to half of the total 
area in Turkey (49.1 %) and the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (49.2 %). By contrast, 
the utilised agricultural area accounted for a 
somewhat lower share of the total area in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina (33.7 %), while the share in 
Montenegro was considerably lower (16.7 %).

71

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  7 Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Figure	7.2:	Utilised agricultural area, 2005 and 2015
(% of total area)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

EU-28 (1)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Turkey (2)
Serbia
Albania
Kosovo (3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4)
Montenegro (5)

(1)  2004 instead of 2005. 2014 instead of 2015. 2014: estimate.
(2)  2015: provisional.
(3)  2005: not available. 2015: provisional.

2005

2015

(4)  2015: break in series.
(5)  2005: provisional. 2015: break in series.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: apro_acs_a, demo_r_d3area and cpc_agmain)

The share of total area used for agricultural 
purposes in the EU‑28 fell between 2004 and 
2014 by 2.0 percentage points from 41.9 %. 
Between the years shown in Figure 7.2, there 
were also reductions in the relative share of the 
utilised agricultural area in Serbia, Turkey and 
Montenegro; note there is a break in series for 
the latter. By contrast, the extent of the utilised 
agricultural areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
and Albania increased over the period under 
consideration.

Agricultural production

For the purpose of this publication, cereals 
include wheat (common wheat and spelt 
and durum wheat), rye, maslin, barley, oats, 
mixed grain other than maslin, grain maize, 
sorghum, triticale, and other cereal crops such 
as buckwheat, millet, canary seed, as well as 
rice. The statistics presented in Table 7.1 on crop 
production relate to harvested production, of 
which, that for cereals in the EU‑28 stood at 318.0 
million tonnes in 2015. The combined harvest of 

cereals across the seven enlargement countries 
was around 50 million tonnes, equivalent to 
15.7 % of the total output of the EU‑28. By far the 
highest level of cereals production among the 
enlargement countries was recorded in Turkey 
(38.6 million tonnes), followed by Serbia (8.4 
million tonnes); Bosnia and Herzegovina was 
the only other enlargement country to register 
a level of output that was above one million 
tonnes.

While the harvested production of cereals in 
the enlargement countries was equivalent to 
about one sixth of the EU‑28’s output, their 
sugar beet production was slightly higher in 
relative terms, equivalent to 17.9 % of the EU‑28 
total; sugar beet production in the EU‑28 was 
101.8 million tonnes in 2015, while the seven 
enlargement countries had a cumulated total of 
18.2 million tonnes. A closer analysis reveals that 
the production of sugar beet in the enlargement 
countries was concentrated exclusively in Serbia 
(2.2 million tonnes; 12.0 % of output in the 
enlargement countries) and Turkey (16.0 million 
tonnes; 88.0 %).

72

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionAgriculture, forestry and fishing

7

Across the seven enlargement countries, the 
combined level of output of fruit was 21.1 
million tonnes in 2015, while that for vegetables 
was 33.0 million tonnes. Turkey accounted for 
a very high share of the harvest, equivalent to 
89.5 % of the total output of vegetables in the 
enlargement countries, and to 90.6 % of the total 
output of fruit.

Crop production levels can fluctuate 
substantially from year to year as a result of 
climatic/weather conditions and variations in 
demand. The production of cereals was higher 
in 2015 than it had been in 2005 in four of the 
seven enlargement countries, as was the case for 
the EU‑28. By contrast, sugar beet production in 
the EU‑28 was considerably lower in 2015 than it 
had been in 2005, falling overall by 26 %. There 
were also reductions in sugar beet production 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
(where output ceased) and Serbia (− 34 % over 
the period under consideration), while Turkey 
registered a modest expansion, as harvested 
output rose by 6 %. 

Information on the production of oilseeds in the 
EU‑28 is limited; the latest annual figure relates 
to 2012, when the level of harvested production 
reached 23.2 million tonnes. Fresher data exists 
for the enlargement countries, their combined 
level of output stood at 4.4 million tonnes in 
2015, which was equivalent to almost one fifth 
(19.0 %) of the level recorded in the EU‑28 for 
2012. The level of harvested production in Turkey 
accounted for more than three quarters (78.3 % 
in 2015) of the total output of oilseeds in the 
enlargement countries, while more than one fifth 
(21.0 %) of the total was attributed to Serbia.

The harvested production of potatoes in the 
EU‑28 stood at 52.7 million tonnes in 2015. In 
the enlargement countries there was a lower 
propensity to harvest this crop, as the combined 
level of output across the seven enlargement 
countries stood at 6.3 million tonnes, equivalent 
to 10.2 % of the EU‑28 total. Turkey (4.8 million 
tonnes; 75.7 % of output in the enlargement 
countries) was the largest producer of potatoes 
among the enlargement countries.

Table	7.1:	Crop production, 2015
(thousand tonnes)

Cereals 
(including 
rice)

318 029 
7 
489 

696 
8 429 
38 637 
1 138 
444 

Sugar beet

Oilseeds

Potatoes

Fruit

Vegetables

101 815 
0 
0 

0 
2 183 
16 023 
0 
0 

23 161 
0 
13 

4 
925 
3 442 
13 
1 

52 721 
35 
190 

245 
639 
4 763 
351 
70 

: 
30  
217 

245 
1 142 
19 100 
314 
72 

: 
51 
845 

1 030 
1 108 
29 552 
290 
146 

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro (2)
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  Oilseeds: 2012.
(2)  Fruit: 2012.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: apro_acs_a and cpc_agmain)

73

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  7 Agriculture, forestry and fishing

In 2015, the livestock population in the EU‑28 
was composed of 148.7 million pigs, an 
estimated 99.0 million sheep and goats, and 89.2 
million cattle. Cultural/religious particularities in 
the enlargement countries may explain many 
of the differences observed in their structure 
of livestock rearing and meat production 
(see Tables 7.2 and 7.3). For example, Turkey 
is a largely Muslim country and as such many 
of its citizens abstain from eating pork; the 
same is true in some of the Balkan countries, 
for example, in parts of Kosovo, Bosnia and 
Herzegovina and Albania.

The livestock population of pigs in the EU‑28 
was approximately 1.7 times as high as the 
population of cattle in 2015. By contrast, there 
were 3.8 times as many cattle as pigs in the 
enlargement countries. Sheep and goats were, 
by far, the most common type of livestock in the 
enlargement countries, with 11.5 times as many 
sheep and goats as pigs in 2015, and 3.0 times as 
many sheep and goats as cattle.

Table	7.2:	Livestock population, 2015 (1)
(thousand heads)

An alternative way of analysing these figures is to 
look at the relative share of livestock populations 
in the enlargement countries compared with the 
EU‑28. The number of sheep and goats in the 
seven enlargement countries was equivalent to 
almost half of the total being reared in the EU‑28 
(note precise recent data are not available for the 
EU aggregate). Turkey alone reported 41.9 million 
sheep and goats in 2015 and the combined total 
for all seven of the enlargement countries was 
49.1 million.

The combined livestock population of cattle in 
the enlargement countries equated to 18.5 % of 
the EU‑28 total in 2015. As noted above, many 
of the enlargement countries had very few 
pigs in their livestock populations. Indeed, the 
total number of pigs in the seven enlargement 
countries was 4.2 million in 2015, which equated 
to just 2.9 % of the total number recorded in the 
EU‑28.

EU-28 (2)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

Cattle

89 152 
93 
253 

504 
916 
13 994 
455 
259 

Dairy cows

23 595 
63 
124 

357 
430 
5 536 
217 
136 

Pigs

148 724 
25 
195 

171 
3 284 
2 
564 
41 

Sheep and goats

99 000 
224 
822 

2 850 
1 992 
41 924 
1 093 
218 

(1)  As of December.
(2)  Sheep and goats: rounded estimates made for the purpose of this publication.
(3)  Cattle: excluding buffaloes.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: apro_mt_lscatl, apro_mt_lspig, apro_mt_lssheep, apro_mt_lsgoat and cpc_agmain)

74

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionAgriculture, forestry and fishing

7

Meat production is based on the activity of 
slaughterhouses regarding meat fit for human 
consumption. The livestock figures shown 
in Table 7.2 are, unsurprisingly, reflected in 
the meat production figures presented in 
Table 7.3, notably the relatively low level of pig 
meat production in some of the enlargement 
countries.

high as that from cattle in the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, which was a similar ratio 
to that recorded in the EU‑28. By contrast, the 
level of pig meat production was lower than the 
level of meat production from cattle in Bosnia 
and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania, as 
well as in Turkey (where pig meat production 
was negligible).

The quantity of pig meat produced in the EU‑28 
stood at 23.0 million tonnes in 2015, which was 
approximately three times as high as the level of 
meat production from cattle (7.6 million tonnes). 
Among the enlargement countries a higher ratio 
was observed for Serbia where the ratio of pig 
meat production to meat production from cattle 
was 3.6 : 1. Pig meat production was 2.9 times as 

Among the four types of meat production 
shown in Table 7.3, the biggest quantity of meat 
produced was from pigs in Serbia (58.6 % of the 
national total) and the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (57.9 %), from cattle in Montenegro 
(52.9 %) and Albania (43.8 %), and from poultry 
meat in Turkey (63.1 %) as well as Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (54.2 %).

Table	7.3:	Meat production, 2015
(thousand tonnes)

EU-28 
Montenegro (1) 
The former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia 
Albania 
Serbia (1) 
Turkey (2) 
Bosnia and Herzegovina 
Kosovo 

(1)  Net quantity.
(2)  Cattle: excluding buffaloes.

Cattle 

7 590.3 
7.3 
6.8 

39.3 
76.5 
1 014.9 
34.2 
: 

Pigs 

22 957.8 
3.7 
19.4 

11.6 
278.2 
: 
25.5 
: 

Sheep and goats 

Poultry 

: 
2.1 
5.9 

26.5 
34.1 
134.0 
2.0 
: 

: 
0.7 
1.4 

12.2 
85.6 
1 962.1 
73.1 
: 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: apro_mt_pann and cpc_agmain)

75

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  7 Agriculture, forestry and fishing

The level of milk production (which may 
include milk other than cows’ milk) in the EU‑28 
was 164.9 million tonnes in 2014. The latest 
information for six of the enlargement countries 
(no data for Kosovo) suggests that their level of 
production in 2015 was equivalent to 13.7 % of 
that recorded in the EU‑28. Turkey had by far the 
highest milk production (18.7 million tonnes) 
among the enlargement countries in 2015, while 
Serbia and Albania were the only other countries 
to report that they had a level of output that was 
above 1.0 million tonnes.

Between 2010 and 2015, the level of milk 
production among the six enlargement countries 
for which data are available grew from 17.4 
million tonnes to 22.7 million tonnes; this was 
equivalent to an overall increase of 30.5 % during 
the five‑year period under consideration. The 
most rapid expansion in milk production was 
registered in Turkey (up 37.7 %), while there was 
also rapid growth in Montenegro (up 27.6 %). The 
four remaining countries also recorded increases 
in their level of milk production, although the 
expansion in output was at a much slower pace, 
rising overall by 2.8 %–5.7 %.

Figure	7.3:	Milk production, 2010 and 2015 (1)
(thousand tonnes)

0

2 500

5 000

7 500

10 000 12 500 15 000 17 500 20 000

Turkey

Serbia

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Montenegro (3)

(1)  Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2015: estimate.
(3)  Million litres. Net quantity. 2015: provisional.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: cpc_agmain)

2010

2015

76

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition8 Business

8 Business

Short‑term business statistics (STS) are 
specifically designed to show developments 
over time, and so may be used to calculate rates 
of change: the data presented here are annual 
indices that allow the most rapid assessment 
of the economic climate within industry, 
construction and services. The information 
presented relates to several business cycle 
indicators, including: the industrial production 
index, the industrial domestic output price index, 
the construction production index, and the 
volume of sales index for retail trade.

Industrial production index

At the onset of the global financial and economic 
crisis, there was a sharp contraction in industrial 
activity in the EU‑28. In 2009, the EU‑28’s 
industrial production index fell by 13.8 %, while 
a partial rebound in 2010 (+6.7 %) and 2011 
(+3.2 %) was followed once again by a reduction 
in output of 2.1 % in 2012 and of 0.5 % in 2013, 
before growth returned in 2014 (1.2 %) and 
accelerated in 2015 (2.2 %) — see Figure 8.1.

By far the largest contraction in industrial activity 
in 2009 among the enlargement countries was 
recorded in Montenegro, where the production 
index fell by almost one third; this was the only 
enlargement country to record a downturn in 

activity that was of greater magnitude than that 
experienced in the EU‑28. There were, however, 
considerable reductions in industrial activity in 
2009 in all but one of the remaining enlargement 
countries, ranging from − 12.6 % in Serbia to 
− 6.5 % in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By contrast, 
Albania recorded a considerable expansion in 
its industrial output in 2009, as the production 
index rose by 17.5 %.

It is possible to evaluate the effects of the 
crisis by comparing pre‑crisis levels of output 
in 2008 with the most recent data available, 
namely, industrial production indices for 2015. 
Montenegro was the enlargement country most 
affected by the crisis during this period, as its 
industrial production index remained 29.7 % 
lower in 2015 than it had been in 2008. Serbia 
also reported that its level of industrial output 
had failed to recover to its pre‑crisis level, with 
industrial output remaining 5.3 % lower in 
2015 than it had been in 2008. For comparison, 
industrial production in the EU‑28 remained 
4.4 % lower in 2015 than it had been in 2008.

By contrast, industrial output in 2015 was higher 
than its pre‑crisis level in Albania, Turkey, Bosnia 
and Herzegovina and the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia. Industrial output in the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was 

Figure	8.1:	Calendar adjusted indices of production, industry (NACE Rev. 2), 2005–2015 (¹)
(2010 = 100)

150
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

(1)  Kosovo: not available. Note that the y-axis does not start at 0.
(2)  Gross index.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: sts_inpr_a and cpc_insts)

78

EU-28

Albania

Turkey

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia

Serbia (2)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Montenegro

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionBusiness

8

2.5 % higher in 2015 than it had been in 2008, as 
output increased between 2012 and 2015, while 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina it was 4.2 % higher, 
with growth every year except one between 
2010 and 2015. The initial impact of the crisis was 
quite pronounced in Turkey, as industrial output 
fell by just over 10 % in 2009. However, there was 
an immediate rebound in 2010 when growth 
of 12.4 % was recorded. Thereafter, single‑digit 
growth rates were recorded such that by 2015 
the industrial production index in Turkey was 
24.8 % higher than it had been in 2008. As noted 
above, Albania was an exception to the general 
pattern of declining output in 2009. Indeed, 
its industrial production index appeared to be 
relatively immune to the crisis, with output rising 
in each and every year over the whole period 
shown in Table 1, albeit with more modest 
growth in the most recent years. Industrial 
output in Albania was approximately three times 
as high in 2015 as it had been in 2005 and was 
almost twice as high in 2015 as it had been at the 
onset of the crisis in 2008.

Domestic output price indices

changes in goods that are sold by manufacturers; 
they provide an early indicator of inflation. 
One of the key drivers in the development of 
output price indices is global demand for energy 
resources, in particular, crude oil. Indeed, in 
recent years the price of oil has fluctuated far 
more than the price of many other goods and 
this has had a direct impact on costs faced 
by manufacturers in a range of (downstream) 
industrial activities, with oil price fluctuations 
often being passed down the production line 
between interlinked activities.

There was a peak in the price of crude oil in 2008, 
which coincided with the highest year‑on‑year 
increase in EU‑28 output prices over the period 
2005–2015. In a similar vein, a fall in global 
demand following the onset of the financial and 
economic crisis, coupled with falling oil prices, 
led to EU‑28 output prices falling by 4.2 % in 
2009. In 2010, EU‑28 industrial output price levels 
returned to growth (3.1 %) and accelerated in 
2011 (6.1 %). Thereafter, price increases slowed, 
and in 2013 there was no overall change in 
prices, followed by price falls in 2014 and 2015 
(see Figure 8.2).

The development of domestic output price 
indices for industry — also known as domestic 
producer price indices (PPIs) — reflects price 

An analysis of developments for domestic 
industrial output prices in the enlargement 
countries between 2009 and 2015 shows that 

Figure	8.2:	Gross domestic output price indices, industry (NACE Rev. 2), 2005–2015 (1)
(2010 = 100)

150

140

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

60

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

(1)  Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available. Note that the y-axis does not start at 0.
(2)  2005 and 2005: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: sts_inppd_a and cpc_insts)

EU-28

Turkey

Serbia

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia

Montenegro

Albania (2)

79

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  8 Business

prices in Albania fell by 1.1 %. The development 
of industrial output prices in Montenegro was 
identical to in the EU‑28, with prices rising overall 
by 7.2 %. By contrast, prices rose at a faster pace 
(than in the EU) in the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (up overall by 21.9 %), and at an 
even faster pace in Serbia and Turkey, where 
overall price increases of 42.3 % and 55.0 % were 
observed between 2009 and 2015.

Construction production index

The effects of the financial and economic crisis 
on construction were, if anything, even greater 
than on the industrial economy. Indeed, the 
production index for construction in the EU‑28 
fell each and every year during the period 2008–
2013, returning to annual growth only in 2014. 
From its pre‑crisis high in 2007 through to 2013, 
the EU‑28 index of production for construction 
fell overall by more than one fifth (21.9 %).

Some of the enlargement countries had a similar 
development, with considerably lower levels of 

construction output in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
Albania and Serbia when comparing the most 
recent data available with that recorded prior to 
the crisis. The situation in Serbia was particular as 
construction output appeared to be recovering 
between 2010 and 2012 before a second large 
fall in 2013.

The index of production for construction in 
Turkey grew in successive years during the 
period 2010–2015 and more than recovered its 
losses experienced at the height of the crisis (see 
Figure 8.3). However, the most rapid expansions 
in construction output in recent years were 
registered in Montenegro and the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in part driven 
by an expanding tourism sector in the former 
and by government initiatives to promote home 
ownership in the latter: year‑on‑year increases 
in output were recorded throughout the period 
2011–2015 in Montenegro and all years from 
2010 to 2015 in the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, except for a contraction in output 
in 2014.

Figure	8.3:	Calendar adjusted indices of production, construction (NACE Rev. 2), 
2005–2015 (1)
(2010 = 100)

EU-28

Montenegro

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (2)

Turkey

Serbia (2)(3)

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

300
280
260
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

(1)  Kosovo: not available. Note that the y-axis does not start at 0.
(2)  Gross index.
(3)  2015: provisional.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: sts_copr_a and cpc_insts)

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8

Volume of sales index for retail 
trade

Retail trade indices have particular importance 
because of the role of retail trade as an interface 
between producers and final customers, 
allowing retail sales turnover and volume of 
sales indices to be used as short‑term indicators 
for final domestic demand by households. The 
volume of sales index is a measure of turnover in 
the retail trade sector, adjusted to remove price 
changes (inflation).

Figure 8.4 provides data for the period 2005–
2015 and shows that after modest growth up 
to 2007, the volume of sales index in the EU‑28 
declined by a relatively small margin during 
most of the years through to 2013, falling overall 
by 3.2 % during the period 2007–2013. In 2014, 
the volume of sales grew by 2.1 %, and this 

development was reinforced in 2015, with an 
increase of 3.3 %.

Among the enlargement countries, there were 
generally much greater fluctuations than the 
developments seen for the EU‑28. For example, 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
and Serbia were characterised by relatively low 
volume of sales index, when comparing indices 
for 2010 and 2015, there were overall falls of 7.9 % 
and 22.6 % respectively. By contrast, the volume 
of sales indices for the remaining enlargement 
countries were characterised by uninterrupted 
growth between 2010 and 2015. This pattern was 
particularly apparent in Montenegro, where the 
volume of sales index for retail trade grew by an 
annual average of 7.8 % between 2010 and 2015; 
corresponding rates for Bosnia and Herzegovina, 
Turkey and Albania averaged 4.7 %–5.6 % per 
annum.

Figure	8.4:	Calendar adjusted volume of sales, retail trade (NACE Rev. 2), 2005–2015 (1)
(2010 = 100)

150

140

130

120

110

100

90

80

70

60

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

(1)  Kosovo: not available. Note that the y-axis does not start at 0.
(2)  Gross index.

(3)  2005: not available.
(4)  2005–2012: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: sts_trtu_a and cpc_insts)

EU-28

Montenegro (2)(3)

Albania

Turkey

Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (4)

Serbia

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  8 Business

Tourism

Tourism has the potential to contribute towards 
employment and economic growth, as well as 
to development in rural, peripheral or less‑
developed areas. In 2014, there were 13.7 million 
bed places available in EU‑28 hotels and similar 
establishments, as defined by NACE Rev. 2 Group 
55.1. The number of bed places grew in the 
EU‑28 in each and every year over the period 
2010–2014. Note that the figures shown do not 
reflect occupancy rates and instead refer to the 
supply of available bed places.

A comparison between 2010 and 2015 is 
available for six of the seven enlargement 
countries (no data for Kosovo), as shown in 
Table 8.1. In 2015, the combined number of 
bed places available in hotels and similar 
establishments in these six countries was 
995 thousand, equivalent to 7.3 % of the total 

number of bed places in the EU‑28 in 2014. 
Turkey reported by far the highest number of 
bed places among the enlargement countries, 
some 850 thousand in 2015, or more than four 
fifths (85 %) of the total across the enlargement 
countries.

Between 2010 and 2015, the number of bed 
places available in the six enlargement countries 
rose overall by 226 thousand beds, or 29.3 %. 
In absolute terms, Turkey recorded the largest 
increase in its bed capacity during the period 
2010–2015, with an additional 221 thousand 
beds in hotels and similar establishments, an 
overall increase of 35 %. In relative terms, there 
was a higher growth rate in the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, where the number of 
beds rose by 40 %. For comparison, the number 
of bed places in the EU‑28 increased by 8 % over 
the period 2010–2014.

Table	8.1:	Tourism key indicators, 2010 and 2015
(thousands)

Bed places (in hotels and 
similar collective tourist 
establishments)

Arrivals (of non-residents 
staying in hotels and 
similar collective tourist 
establishments)

Outbound trips (made by 
residents going abroad for 
all holidays and business; 1 
night or more) 

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro (2)
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (3)
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (4)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (5)
Kosovo

2010
12 627 
34 
13 

12 
56 
629 
25 
: 

2015
13 661 
32 
18 

15 
52 
850 
27 
: 

2010
227 297 
500 
259 

74 
640 
17 415 
364 
34 

2015
272 539 
636 
483 

257 
1 127 
23 138 
678 
79 

2010
: 
12 
: 

: 
: 
6 557 
: 
930 

2015
279 658 
: 
: 

: 
: 
8 751 
: 
1 549 

(1)  2014 instead of 2015.
(2)  Outbound trips: low reliability.
(3)  Arrivals: all types of accommodation establishments excluding 

private tourism accommodation.

(4)  Bed-places and arrivals: in licenced accommodation 

establishments.

(5)  Bed places: as of 31 December.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: tour_cap_nat, tour_occ_arnat, tour_dem_tttot and cpc_intour)

82

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8

Figure 8.5 provides an alternative analysis, 
based on the number of non‑resident tourist 
arrivals per 1 000 inhabitants; it may be used 
as a measure of tourism intensity. The indicator 
provides a more nuanced guide to the economic 
significance of tourism pressures and may be 
used to analyse the sustainability of tourism. 
In 2014, there were 538 non‑resident arrivals 
in EU‑28 hotels and similar collective tourist 
establishments per 1 000 inhabitants; this latest 
figure was 19.0 % higher than in 2010.

The highest degree of tourism intensity, using 
this measure, was recorded in Montenegro, 
where there were slightly more non‑resident 
arrivals than inhabitants in 2015. Tourism 
intensity in each of the enlargement countries 
rose at a faster pace than in the EU‑28 between 
2010 and 2015. The fastest expansions were 
recorded in the relatively undeveloped 
markets of Kosovo and Albania, where non‑
resident arrivals remained below 100 per 1 000 
inhabitants.

Figure	8.5:	Arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar collective tourist 
establishments, 2010 and 2015
(per 1 000 inhabitants)

0

200

400

600

800

1 000

1 200

EU-28 (1)(2)(3)

Montenegro
Turkey (4)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (5)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia (2)
Albania (3)
Kosovo (2)(6)

(1)  2014 instead of 2015. 
(2)  Break in series.
(3)  Estimates.
(4)  Licenced accommodation establishments.

2010

2015

(5)  All types of accommodation establishments excluding private 

tourism accommodation.

(6)  2010: estimate.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: tour_occ_arnat, demo_gind, cpc_intour and cpc_psdemo)

83

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  9 Science,	technology	

and	digital	society

9 Science, technology and digital society

Information and communication technologies 
(ICTs) affect people’s everyday lives in many 
ways, both at work and in the home, for 
example, through communications with friends 
and colleagues or buying and ordering goods 
online. The development and expansion of the 
digital society is regarded as critical to improve 
the EU’s competitiveness, while EU policymakers 
also seek to regulate specific areas, such as 
e‑commerce or the protection of an individual’s 
privacy when using such technologies.

Mobile phone subscriptions

In the EU‑28 there were, on average, 1 316 mobile 
phone subscriptions per 1 000 inhabitants in 
2013; in other words, there was an average of 1.3 
mobile subscriptions per person (see Figure 9.1). 
Since the late 1980s/early 1990s the number of 
subscriptions has increased rapidly as mobile 
phones have become commonplace. Figure 9.1 
shows that subscriptions per inhabitant 
continued to increase even though there was an 
apparent market saturation, with an overall rise 
in EU‑28 mobile subscriptions of more than one 
third (37.6 %) between 2005 and 2013.

There was also a rapid take‑up of mobile 
telephony services in the enlargement countries. 

Indeed, during the period 2005–2015, the rate 
of growth of mobile subscriptions was faster in 
each of the enlargement countries than in the 
EU‑28. In 2015, the number of mobile phone 
subscriptions was often higher than the number 
of inhabitants, indicating that some people had 
more than one mobile subscription: this could 
result from some subscriptions remaining active 
even when they were no longer in use, or may 
be linked to some people having subscriptions 
for work and private use, or could be linked to 
some people owning several connected devices.

Among the enlargement countries, Albania 
recorded the highest ratio of mobile phone 
subscriptions to population size in 2015, an 
average of 1 687 subscriptions per 1 000 
inhabitants. Montenegro was the only other 
enlargement country to record a ratio of mobile 
phone subscriptions per inhabitant that was 
above the EU‑28 average, although the ratio in 
Serbia (2014 data) was only marginally below 
that of the EU‑28. At the other end of the range, 
Kosovo recorded the lowest number of mobile 
subscriptions per 1 000 inhabitants, at 464.

Between 2005 and 2015 there was rapid growth 
in the ratio of mobile phone subscriptions per 
inhabitant in the enlargement countries. The 

Figure	9.1:	Mobile phone penetration, 2005 and 2015
(number of subscriptions per 1 000 inhabitants)

0

200

400

600

800

1 000 1 200 1 400 1 600 1 800

EU-28 (1)

Albania (2)
Montenegro (3)
Serbia (4)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Turkey (2)(3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
Kosovo (5)

(1)  2013 instead of 2015.
(2)  2005: estimate.
(3)  Break in series.

2005

2015

(4)  2014 instead of 2015.
(5)  2005: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: isoc_tc_ac1, isoc_tc_mcsupe, demo_pjan and cpc_inisoc)

86

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9

fastest expansion was in Albania, where the 
number of subscriptions per inhabitant more 
than tripled, while the ratio more than doubled 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Fixed telephone lines

Figure 9.2 presents information in relation 
to the number of fixed telephone lines per 
1 000 inhabitants. Fixed telephone lines are 
those which connect a customer’s equipment 
(telephone handset or facsimile machine) 
to the public switched telephone network 
(PSTN). This indicator, together with that for 
mobile telephony, is one of the broadest and 
most common measures used to evaluate the 
development of telecommunications.

In the EU‑28 there were, on average, 429 fixed 
telephone lines per 1 000 inhabitants in 2013. 
This figure was below the ratio recorded in 2005, 
when there had been, on average, 54 more fixed 

telephone lines per 1 000 inhabitants; it should 
be noted that there is a break in series.

As mobile technology became abundant, the 
number of fixed telephone lines fell in many 
countries. There was a reduction in the number 
of fixed telephone lines per 1 000 inhabitants 
in the majority of the enlargement countries 
between 2005 and 2015, although the number 
rose slightly in Serbia. In 2015, Serbia recorded 
the highest ratio of fixed telephone lines per 
1 000 inhabitants among the enlargement 
countries, at 381. This was just over 10 % below 
the corresponding ratio for the EU‑28 and 
considerably higher than in any of the other 
enlargement countries, as the next highest 
ratio was 247 fixed lines per 1 000 inhabitants 
in Montenegro. By contrast, there were two 
enlargement countries where there were 
less than 100 fixed telephone lines per 1 000 
inhabitants, Albania (85; 2014 data) and Kosovo 
(45; 2013 data).

Figure	9.2:	Fixed telephone line penetration, 2005 and 2015
(number of lines per 1 000 inhabitants)

0

100

200

300

400

500

EU-28 (1)

Serbia
Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2)
Turkey
Albania (3)
Kosovo (4)

(1)  Break in series. 2013 (estimate) instead of 2015.
(2)  Break in series.

(3)  2014 instead of 2015.
(4)  2013 instead of 2015.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: isoc_tc_ftteli, cpc_inisoc and cpc_psdemo)

2005

2015

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  9 Science, technology and digital society

Access to a personal computer

As of 2015, 82 % of households in the EU‑28 
had access to a personal computer (PC); this 
marked an increase of 8 percentage points 
when compared with 2010 (see Figure 9.3). The 
proportion of households with access to a PC in 
the four enlargement countries for which data 
are available (no information for Albania, Bosnia 
and Herzegovina or Kosovo) was consistently 
lower than in the EU‑28. Just over two thirds 
(68 %) of all households in the former Yugoslav 

Republic of Macedonia had access to a PC in 
2015, while the corresponding ratio in Serbia 
was slightly lower (64 %). In Montenegro, this 
ratio was also above half (56 %) of all households 
in 2015, while only a quarter (25 %) of all 
households in Turkey had access to a PC; note 
that the figure for Turkey covers only desktop PCs 
and that this particular market has been relatively 
stagnant in recent years as an increasing share 
of people have chosen to buy more portable 
formats, such as laptops, netbooks or tablets.

Figure	9.3:	Proportion of households having access to a personal computer, 2010 and 
2015 (1)
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

EU-28

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Serbia

Montenegro (2)

Turkey (3)

(1)  Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2011 (estimate excluding portable computers, laptops and palmtops) instead of 2010.
(3)  Data only cover desktops.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: isoc_ci_cm_h) and Eurostat enlargement data collection

2010

2015

Access to the internet

Internet access among households refers to 
those households where any member may use 
the internet at home, if so desired, even simply 
to send an e‑mail. Digital subscriber lines (DSL) 
remain the main form of delivery for broadband 
technology in the EU, although alternatives, 
such as the use of cable, satellite, fibre optics 
and wireless local loops are becoming more 
widespread. The proportion of households in 
the EU‑28 with access to the internet was 83 % 
in 2015, almost identical to the proportion 
of households with access to a PC (82 % in 

2015). The proportion of households in the 
EU‑28 having access to the internet rose by 13 
percentage points between 2010 and 2015 (see 
Figure 9.4); as such it outstripped the growth in 
households having access to a PC.

As with household access to PCs, a lower 
proportion of households in the enlargement 
countries had access to the internet when 
compared with households in the EU‑28. The 
highest proportion was recorded for Turkey 
(70 %), closely followed by the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (69 %), Montenegro 
(68 %) and Serbia (64 %). For all four enlargement 
countries for which data are shown for both 

88

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionScience, technology and digital society

9

Figure	9.4:	Proportion of households having access to the internet, 2010 and 2015
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

EU-28

Turkey
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Montenegro (1)(2)
Serbia
Kosovo (1)(3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina  (1)(3)
Albania (3)(4)

(1)  Albania: not available.
(2)  2011 instead of 2010.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: isoc_ci_in_h and cpc_inisoc)

reference years in Figure 9.4, the increase in the 
proportion of households having access to the 
internet between 2010 and 2015 was higher than 
in the EU‑28: the most rapid expansion was in 
Turkey, where there was a 28 percentage points 
increase.

Figure 9.5 shows the proportion of individuals 
(aged 16–74) in the EU‑28 who accessed the 
internet at least once a week stood at 76 % in 
2015; this marked an increase of 11 percentage 
points when compared with the situation five 
years earlier in 2010.

Montenegro was the only enlargement country 
that reported a higher share of individuals (than 
in the EU‑28) accessing the internet at least 
once a week. In 2015, four fifths (80 %) of its 
population was using the internet at least on 
a weekly basis, while the corresponding share 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
was 69 %; closer to half the population in Serbia 
(55 %) and in Turkey (48 %) were accessing the 
internet at least once a week.

There is only a limited set of data for three 
enlargement countries to analyse the 
development of internet use among those aged 
16–74 between 2010 and 2015. There was a 

2010

2015

(3)  Estimates.
(4)  2015: not available.

relatively rapid increase during these five years 
in the proportion of people using the internet 
at least once a week, as their share rose by 15 
percentage points in Turkey (four percentage 
points more than in the EU‑28 average), by 
19 points in the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, and by 25 points in Serbia.

Widespread access to the internet (via 
broadband) is seen as essential for the 
development of advanced services on the 
internet, such as e‑business, e‑government  or 
e‑learning. There is a limited set of data available 
for enterprises having access to the internet; 
note that the data shown generally refer to 
enterprises with 10 or more persons employed 
and that several enlargement countries are 
characterised by having a relatively high number 
of micro enterprises with fewer than 10 persons 
employed. With this proviso, almost all (97 %) 
of the enterprises in the EU‑28 had access to 
the internet in 2015, a share that rose to 99 % in 
Montenegro and 100 % in Serbia (see Figure 9.6). 
A slightly lower proportion of enterprises in the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and 
Turkey had access to the internet, although their 
ratios remained in excess of 9 out of every 10 
enterprises (both 93 %).

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  9 Science, technology and digital society

Figure	9.5:	Individuals (aged 16–74) who access the internet at least once a week, 2010 
and 2015 (1)
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

EU-28

Montenegro (2)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Serbia

Turkey

Albania (3)

(1)  Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2010: not available.
(3)  2015: not available. 2012 instead of 2010.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: isoc_ci_ifp_fu and cpc_inisoc)

2010

2015

Figure	9.6:	Proportion of enterprises having access to the internet, 2010 and 2015 (1)
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28

Serbia (2)

Montenegro (3)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Turkey

(1)  Enterprises with 10 or more persons employed, excluding financial and insurance activities 

(NACE Rev. 2 Section K). Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available.

(2)  2010: not available.
(3)  2011 instead of 2010. Estimates.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: isoc_ci_in_en2)

2010

2015

90

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9

In 2014, gross expenditure on R & D was valued 
at EUR 284 billion in the EU‑28, which was 19.6 % 
higher than five years earlier (in current price 
terms). R & D intensity in the EU‑28 was 2.03 % in 
2014; as such, it lagged behind both Japan and 
the United States, primarily due to relatively low 
levels of business expenditure on R & D.

R & D expenditure in Turkey was valued at 
EUR 6.1 billion, which was equivalent to 2.1 % 
of the level for 2014 recorded in the EU‑28. 
Turkish R & D expenditure was far higher than 
in any of the other enlargement countries, as 
the next highest level was EUR 301 million in 
Serbia, approximately one thousandth of the 
expenditure in the EU‑28.

The relatively high level of R & D expenditure in 
Turkey (compared with the other enlargement 
countries) was not simply because of its larger 
size, as witnessed from an analysis of the level 
of R & D expenditure relative to the size of each 
economy. The R & D intensities among the 
enlargement countries ranged in 2014 from 
0.96 % and 0.78 % in Turkey and Serbia to 0.30 % 
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Research and development 
expenditure

Eurostat data on research and development 
(R & D) provide a comprehensive picture 
covering indicators related to expenditure 
and personnel. R & D comprises creative work 
undertaken on a systematic basis in order to 
increase the stock of knowledge, including 
knowledge of man, culture and society and the 
use of this stock of knowledge to develop new 
applications.

R & D is a driver of innovation, with the level of 
gross domestic expenditure on R & D (GERD) 
(which includes expenditure on R & D performed 
by business enterprises, higher education 
institutions, as well as government and private 
non‑profit organisations) and the ratio of R & D 
intensity (R & D expenditure relative to GDP) 
being two of the key indicators used to monitor 
resources devoted to science and technology. 
The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable 
and inclusive growth was adopted in 2010. One 
of its five targets is to see an increase in the level 
of R & D intensity such that it averages 3.00 % of 
the EU’s GDP by 2020.

Figure	9.7:	Research and development intensity, 2004–2014 (1)
(% of GDP)

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

(1)  Albania and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2014: provisional.
(3)  2013 and 2014: provisional.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: rd_e_gerdtot and cpc_scienc)

(4)  2010 and 2012: not available.
(5)  2004–2011: not available.

EU-28 (2)

Turkey

Serbia

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (3)

Montenegro (4)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (5)

91

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  9 Science, technology and digital society

Figure	9.8:	Distribution of source of research and development funds, 2014 (1)
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28 (2)

Montenegro

Serbia

Turkey

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Business enterprise sector

Government sector

Abroad

Other (3)

(1)  The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  Higher education sector and  private non-profit sector.
(3)  2013.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: rd_e_gerdfund and cpc_scienc)

Despite their relatively low overall levels of 
R & D expenditure, several of the enlargement 
countries reported a fairly steady increase in such 
expenditure (relative to GDP) between 2004 
and 2014, notably in Serbia, the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia and Turkey; by contrast, 
expenditure in Montenegro was lower in 2014 
than it had been in 2004 (see Figure 9.7).

An analysis of R & D expenditure by source of 
funds for 2013 shows that more than half (55.0 %) 
of the total expenditure within the EU‑28 was 
funded by business enterprises, while one third 
(32.7 %) was funded by government, and a 
further 9.9 % from abroad (foreign funds); the 
‘other’ sources (2.4 %) include higher education 
and non‑profit organisations.

In Turkey, the business enterprise sector was 
also the largest source of funding for R & D 
expenditure, again providing just over half the 
total (50.9 %) in 2014. By contrast, in Serbia, 
Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 
government sector was the main source of R & D 
funding in 2014; in Serbia, it provided more than 
half (53.5 %) of all R & D finance. Compared with 
the EU‑28, other sources provided a relatively 
large share of total R & D funding in many of the 
enlargement countries (see Figure 9.8).

Research and development 
personnel and researchers

R & D personnel consists of all individuals 
employed directly in the field of R & D, including 
persons providing direct services, such as 
managers, administrators, and clerical staff. 
The number of R & D personnel in the EU‑28 
increased in recent years: in 2014, there were 
2.76 million persons (in full‑time equivalents) 
employed as R & D personnel in the EU‑28 (see 
Table 9.1), which marked an increase of 269 
thousand (or 10.8 %) when compared with 2009. 
Among these were 1.76 million researchers, 
in other words, professionals engaged in the 
conception or creation of new knowledge, 
products, processes, methods and systems and 
also in related project management.

Turkey reported 115 thousand R & D personnel 
in 2014, among which 90 thousand were 
researchers, by far the highest number among 
the enlargement countries. Between 2009 
and 2014 the number of R & D personnel in 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
increased overall by 71.3 % (note however that 
there is a break in series), while Turkey (57.0 %) 
and Serbia (7.4 %) reported smaller increases; 

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9

The share of R & D personnel in total 
employment rose from 1.1 % to 1.3 % in the 
EU‑28 between 2009 and 2014. The relative 
weight of R & D personnel in total employment 
also increased in Serbia by 0.2 percentage points, 
while increases of 0.1 points were recorded for 
Turkey and for the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia. By contrast, in Montenegro there 
was a sharp reduction in the share of R & D 
personnel in total employment, as their relative 
share fell by 0.4 percentage points between 2009 
and 2013.

in Montenegro there was a relatively large fall 
(− 60.3 %) in the number of R & D personnel, in 
line with its contraction in R & D expenditure.

Standardising these data to take account of 
the overall number of persons employed, 
R & D personnel accounted for 1.3 % of total 
employment in the EU‑28 in 2014. Among the 
enlargement countries, Serbia had the highest 
share of R & D personnel in total employment, 
at 0.9 % in 2014, while the smallest share among 
those countries for which data are available was 
in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
(0.3 %).

Table	9.1:	Research and development personnel, 2009–2014
(thousands of full-time equivalents)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (1)
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  2010: break in series.

2009

2 488.5 
1.5 
1.1 

: 
18.1 
73.5 
: 
: 

2010

2 541.9 
: 
1.4 

: 
17.3 
81.8 
: 
: 

2011

2 613.0 
0.5 
1.1 

: 
17.5 
92.8 
: 
: 

2012

2 670.3 
: 
1.7 

: 
17.7 
105.1 
1.1 
: 

2013

2 713.4 
0.5 
1.6 

: 
18.1 
113.0 
1.4 
: 

2014

2 757.4 
0.6 
2.0 

: 
19.4 
115.4 
1.8 
: 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: rd_p_persocc and cpc_scienc)

Figure	9.9:	Research and development personnel as a share of all persons employed, 
2009 and 2014 (1)
(%; based on full-time equivalent units)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

EU-28 (2)

Serbia (2)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)

Turkey (4)

Montenegro (5)(6)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (5)

(1)  Albania and Kosovo not available.
(2)  Estimates.
(3)  2009: not available.

2009

2014

(4)  2014: estimate.
(5)  2009: estimate.
(6)  2013 instead of 2014.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: rd_p_perslf) and enlargement data collection

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  9 Science, technology and digital society

An analysis of R & D personnel by sex for 
2014 shows that women accounted for 49 % 
of the workforce in Serbia and in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (2012 data), while they represented 
a small majority of the total number of R & D 
personnel in Montenegro (51 %; 2013 data) and 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
(52 %). By contrast, women accounted for 
approximately one third (33 %) of all R & D 
personnel in Turkey.

Between 2009 and 2014 the share of women 
in total R & D personnel fell among those 
enlargement countries where women accounted 
for a majority of the workforce. This pattern 
was also observed for Serbia, where the share 
of women went from slightly above to slightly 
below parity over the five‑year period under 
consideration. In Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(2009–2012) the share of women in R & D 
personnel rose at a relatively fast pace, increasing 
by 5.7 percentage points, while the share of 
women also rose in Turkey, by 2.4 points, albeit 
from a relatively low share in 2009.

Figure	9.10:	Share of women in research and development personnel, 2009 and 2014 (1)
(%; based on full-time equivalent units)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Montenegro (2)

Serbia

Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)

Turkey

(1)  Albania and Kosovo not available.
(2)  2011 instead of 2009. 2013 instead of 2014.
(3)  2012 instead of 2014.

Source: Eurostat enlargement data collection

2009

2014

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  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition10 Transport

10 Transport

An efficient and well‑functioning passenger and 
freight transport system is considered vital for a 
competitive economy. The EU’s transport policy 
aims to foster clean, safe and efficient travel 
throughout Europe, underpinning the internal 
market for goods (transferring them between 
their place of production and consumption) and 
the right of citizens to travel freely throughout 
the EU (for both work and pleasure).

Transport networks

In 2013, the EU‑28 motorway network was 
approximately 74 thousand kilometres (km) 
in length. Most of the enlargement countries 
are relatively small in terms of their total area 
and population numbers and so it is perhaps 
unsurprising to find that they generally had 
relatively small motorway networks, rarely more 
than a few hundred kilometres (see Table 10.1). 
Indeed, the combined length of motorways in 
the enlargement countries was equivalent to 
less than 5 % of the total length of the EU‑28 
motorway network. Among the enlargement 
country, Turkey’s motorway network was by far 
the longest, at 2 159 km in 2015.

Between 2005 and 2015, the length of the 
Turkish motorway network rose, on average, by 
2.6 % per annum. Serbia (6.5 % per annum) and 
Bosnia and Herzegovina (27.8 % per annum) 
both reported faster expansions in relative 
terms, while the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia reported a slower increase (1.8 % per 
annum); for comparison, the motorway network 
in the EU‑28 grew, on average, by 2.1 % per 
annum between 2005 and 2013.

The EU‑28 road network (other than motorways) 
was estimated to be around 4.8 million km in 
length in 2013. As for motorways, Turkey had the 
longest road network among the enlargement 
countries, at 237 thousand km in 2015 (note that 
there is a large break in series for the Turkish data 
shown in Table 10.1). Serbia had the second most 
extensive road network among the enlargement 
countries, some 45 thousand km in 2015.

There were 221 thousand km of railway lines in 
the EU‑28 in 2014, practically unchanged when 
compared with 2005 (average growth of 0.3 % 
per annum). The combined length of railway 
lines in the seven enlargement countries was 
16.6 thousand km, equivalent to 7.5 % of the 

Table	10.1:	Main indicators for transport networks, 2005 and 2015
(km)

Motorways

Roads (excluding 
motorways)

Railway lines

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)
Kosovo

2005
63 140 
0 
216 

3 
370 
1 667 
11 
0 

2015
74 341 
0 
259 

: 
693 
2 159 
128 
80 

2005

: 
7 353 
13 278 

2 650 
38 600 
347 571 
16 600 
1 660 

2015
4 778 000 
8 614 
14 256 

3 947 
44 995 
236 617 
: 
2 012 

2005
215 110 
250 
699 

433 
3 809 
8 697 
1 030 
: 

2015
220 673 
250 
699 

379 
3 766 
10 131 
1 027 
333 

(1)  Railway lines: 2013 instead of 2015.
(2)  Roads (excluding motorways): excluding urban municipality 

roads; 2015, also excluding rural roads in the cities of 
metropolitan municipalities. Railway lines: main lines only.

(3)  Roads (excluding motorways): excluding local roads of the 

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Source:  Eurostat (online data code: cpc_transp) and the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport  

(EU transport in figures, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/media/publications/index_en.htm)

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  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionTransport

10

EU‑28 network. The length of railway lines was 
unchanged in Montenegro and the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia between 2005 
and 2015, while there were slight contractions in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and a larger 
reduction (in relative terms) in the length of the 
Albanian rail network. The Turkish rail network 
grew at quite a rapid pace, with its length 
increasing by 1 434 km (note that the data for 
Turkey only cover main lines).

Table 10.2 provides alternative measures of 
the relative importance of transport networks, 
presenting the density of networks in relation 
to total area and numbers of inhabitants. 
Montenegro, Serbia (2014 data) and the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia recorded the 
highest density of roads among the enlargement 
countries, with more than 500 m of road per 
square kilometre (km²) of total area in 2015. 
Using this measure, roads in Kosovo (2014 data) 
and Albania were spread more thinly across each 
territory, some 185 m and 137 m per km². For 
comparison, there was a much higher density 
of roads in the EU‑28, estimated to be around 
1.1 km per km² in 2013.

An alternative network density measure is one 
which uses the number of inhabitants as its 
denominator. On this basis, the road network in 
Montenegro was about twice as dense as in any 
other enlargement country, with an average of 
13.8 km of road per 1 000 inhabitants in 2015; 
this was also higher than the average recorded in 
the EU‑28 (9.5 km per 1 000 inhabitants in 2013). 
The road networks of Albania and Kosovo were 
again relatively sparse, using this measure, when 
compared with the remaining enlargement 
countries, with 1.4 km and 1.1 km of road per 
1 000 inhabitants in 2015.

Across the EU‑28, the density of railway lines 
was generally quite high in western and central 
Europe and lower in peripheral (especially 
sparsely populated) regions. In 2014, the rail 
network density of the EU‑28 averaged 49.4 m 
per km² or 0.44 km per 1 000 inhabitants. Serbia 
had the highest rail network density among the 
enlargement countries, both in relation to its 
total area and number of inhabitants. While the 
former was comparable (at 48.6 m per km² in 
2014) to the EU‑28 average, Serbia’s rail network 
density relative to population (0.53 km per 1 000 
inhabitants in 2015) was clearly above the EU‑28 

Table	10.2:	Density of transport networks, 2015

Roads (excluding motorways)

Railway lines

(m per km2)

(km per 1 000 
inhabitants)

(m per km2)

(km per 1 000 
inhabitants)

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (2)
Turkey (3)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4)
Kosovo (2)

1 070 
624 
554 

137 
573 
302 
: 
185 

9.5 
13.8 
6.9 

1.4 
6.3 
3.0 
: 
1.1 

49.4 
18.1 
27.2 

13.2 
48.6 
12.9 
20.1 
30.6 

0.44 
0.40 
0.34 

0.13 
0.53 
0.13 
0.27 
0.19 

(1)  Railway lines: 2013 instead of 2015. Total area of the EU-28: data 
for Croatia covers only land area and excludes water bodies.

(2)  Ratios per km2: 2014 instead of 2015.

(3)  Roads (excluding motorways): excluding urban municipality 

roads and rural roads in the cities of metropolitan 
municipalities. Railway lines: main lines only.

(4)  Roads (excluding motorways): excluding local roads of the 

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Source: Eurostat  (online data codes: demo_r_d3area, demo_pjan, cpc_transp, cpc_agmain and cpc_psdemo)  

and the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (EU transport in figures, available at:  
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/media/publications/index_en.htm)

97

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  10 Transport

average; it was the only enlargement country 
to record a rail network density (by either 
measure) above that registered in the EU‑28. At 
the other end of the range, Turkey and Albania 
reported the lowest ratios for their rail networks, 
regardless whether in relation to land area or 
population size; note again that the data for 
Turkey refer only to main lines.

Motorisation rate

The principal mode of passenger transport in 
the EU is the passenger car, providing both 
flexibility and mobility for personal journeys. 
In the EU‑28, there were an estimated 491 
passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants in 2013. This 
marked an increase of 10 % in car ownership (or 
43 additional cars per 1 000 inhabitants) when 
compared with 2005 (see Figure 10.1).

Motorisation rates for the enlargement countries 
were considerably lower than in the EU‑28. There 
were, on average, 283 passenger cars per 1 000 
inhabitants in Montenegro and 258 per 1 000 
inhabitants in Serbia in 2015; these were the 
highest rates among the enlargement countries. 
By contrast, motorisation rates in Turkey and 
Albania were below 150 passenger cars per 
1 000 inhabitants.

During the 10‑year period shown in Figure 1 
there was faster growth in the motorisation rate 
in all of the enlargement countries than in the 
EU‑28. Although Albania and Turkey recorded 
the lowest motorisation rates in 2015, along with 
Kosovo they recorded the fastest expansion 
in car ownership between 2005 and 2015. The 
highest rate of change was recorded in Kosovo, 
where the motorisation rate nearly quadrupled 
between 2005 and 2015, while in Albania the 
rate was more than twice as high in 2015 as it 
had been in 2005.

Freight transport

The ability to move goods safely, quickly and 
cost‑efficiently to markets is important for 
international trade, national distributive trades, 
and economic development. Within the EU‑28, 
roads accounted for by far the highest share 
of inland freight transport: in 2015, some1 454 
billion tonne‑kilometres (tkm) of inland freight 
circulated using this mode of transport. Rail 
was the second most common mode for 
transporting inland freight (an estimated 407 
billion tkm), while the relative importance of 
inland waterways was much lower (147 billion 
tkm). The EU‑28 also transported (inward and 

Figure	10.1:	Motorisation rate, 2005 and 2015
(passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants)

0

100

200

300

400

500

EU-28 (1)

Montenegro
Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
Kosovo
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Turkey

(1)  2013 instead of 2015.
(2)  2006 instead of 2005.

Source:  Eurostat (online data codes: demo_pjan and cpc_transp) and  

the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (EU transport in figures, available at:  
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/media/publications/index_en.htm)

2005

2015

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10

high propensity to make use of roads for inland 
freight transport in both the EU and the majority 
of the enlargement countries (see Figure 10.2). 
While the share of road transport in total inland 
freight transport was 75.4 % across the EU‑28 
in 2014, there was an even greater reliance on 
using roads to transport freight in Montenegro, 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
and Turkey, where 100.0 %, 96.1 % and 95.8 % 
of inland freight was moved by road in 2015. 
As noted above, there was a relatively high use 
made of rail and inland waterways for freight 
transport in Serbia and as a consequence Serbia 
had the lowest share of road freight transport 
among the enlargement countries (42.0 %). 
Nevertheless, between 2005 and 2012 the 
road freight share in Serbia increased each and 
every year to reach 44.8 %, since when the 
share stabilised. In Montenegro, the road freight 
share had reached 51.0 % by 2012 after which it 
jumped to 100 % as the use of inland rail freight 
stopped (and all of the remaining railway freight 
transport was international or transit).

outward transport combined) 3.8 billion tonnes 
of sea freight in 2014 (see Table 10.3).

The relative importance of rail freight transport 
was much higher in Serbia and in Montenegro, 
with slightly more goods transported by rail 
than by road in Serbia in 2015. Serbia also had a 
relatively high share of inland freight transport 
on inland waterways (essentially on the Danube).

Turkey was the only enlargement country 
(subject to data availability) to record any notable 
movement of freight by sea, some 416 million 
tonnes in 2015. The former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia, Serbia and Kosovo are all landlocked 
and therefore have no sea ports, while Bosnia 
and Herzegovina has only one coastal town and 
most of its freight destined for or coming from 
sea transport passes through Croatia.

The modal split of inland freight transport is 
based on transportation by road, rail and inland 
waterways, and therefore excludes air, maritime 
and pipeline transport. There was generally a 

Table	10.3:	Freight transport, 2015

Inland freight transport (million tonne-km)

Road

Rail

Inland waterways

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

1 453 683 
140 
6 759 

: 
2 973 
244 329 
3 405 
: 

407 000 
112 
278 

23 
3 248 
10 178 
1 267 
23 

147 327 
0 
: 

: 
859 
0 
: 
: 

(1)  Sea freight: 2014. Rail: rounded estimate made for the purpose of this publication.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: road_go_ta_tott, rail_go_typeall, mar_mg_aa_cwhd and cpc_transp)

Sea freight 
transport 
(million tonnes  
loaded and 
unloaded)
3 793 
1 
– 

4 
– 
416 
: 
– 

99

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  10 Transport

Figure	10.2:	Share of road freight transport in total inland freight transport,  
2005 and 2015 (1)
(%, based on tonne-km)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28 (2)

Montenegro

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Turkey

Bosnia and Herzegovina (3)

Serbia

(1)  Albania and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2014 instead of 2015.
(3)  2007 instead of 2005.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: tran_hv_frmod and cpc_transp)

Passenger transport

Table 10.4 provides information on the 
breakdown of passenger transport. The majority 
of passengers in the enlargement countries 
travelled inland either by road or by rail. In 
Montenegro, the share of passengers travelling 
by road was 1.4 times as high as that recorded 
travelling by rail. In the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia, road passenger transport was 
seven times as popular as a mode of transport 
as rail, rising to nine times as popular in Serbia, 

Table	10.4:	Passenger transport, 2015

2005

2015

almost 50 times as popular in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina, and peaking at 60 times as popular 
in Turkey.

There were just over 400 million sea passengers 
in the EU‑28 in 2014. As noted above, it is not 
possible to travel by sea from several land‑
locked enlargement countries, and among the 
three enlargement countries for which data are 
available, there was a low number of passengers 
transported by sea; the highest count was in 
Turkey (2.2 million in 2015).

EU-28 (1)
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

Inland passenger  
transport  
(million passenger-km)

Road

: 
110 
1 248 
: 
4 601 
290 734 
1 690 
: 

Rail
424 000 
81 
178 
7 
509 
4 828 
34 
269 

Sea passenger 
transport 
(million embarked 
and disembarked)

Air passenger 
transport 
(million carried)

402.0 
0.1 
– 
1.2 
– 
2.2 
: 
– 

918.3 
1.6 
1.6 
2.0 
2.6 
181.0 
1.1 
: 

(1)  Rail and sea: 2014. Rail: rounded estimate made for the purpose of this publication, excluding the 

Netherlands.

Source:  Eurostat (online data codes: road_pa_mov, ttr00015, mar_mp_aa_cph, ttr00012 and cpc_transp) and 

Eurostat enlargement data collection

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  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionTransport

10

In 2015, there were 918 million air passengers 
transported in the EU‑28 and 181 million in 
Turkey. The number of passengers carried by air 
transport did not reach 3.0 million in any of the 
remaining enlargement countries (no data for 
Kosovo).

Cars are the favoured means of passenger 
transport: they accounted for more than four 
fifths (83.4 %) of the total inland passenger 
kilometres in the EU‑28 in 2014; this share was 

unchanged when compared with 2004 (see 
Figure 10.3). There is only a partial set of data 
available for the enlargement countries and this 
shows that the use of cars for inland passenger 
transport was less popular in Turkey (although 
increasing), at a similar level as in the EU‑28 in 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
and considerably more popular in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (where cars accounted for 97.8 % of 
inland passenger transport in 2013).

Figure	10.3:	Share of car transport in total inland passenger transport, 2004 and 2014 (1)
(%, based on passenger-km)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (3)

Turkey (4)

(1)  Montenegro, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2013 instead of 2014.

(3)  Estimates.
(4)  2003: estimate. Break in series.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: tran_hv_psmod and cpc_transp)

2004

2014

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  11 Energy

11 Energy

The Energy Community was established as an 
international organisation in 2006 and currently 
includes, among others, the EU‑28, Albania, 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, the former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro 
and Serbia; Turkey has observer status. The 
aim of the energy community is to extend the 
internal market concerning energy to south‑east 
Europe and beyond.

Basic data on energy quantities are in fuel 
specific units, such as liquid or solid fuels in 
thousand tonnes and electricity in kilowatt‑
hours; these units are converted to common 
energy units (such as tonnes of oil equivalent 
(toe)) to allow the addition or comparison of data 
for different energy sources.

Primary production and net 
imports

Primary energy production takes place when 
energy sources are harnessed, for example, in 
crude oil or natural gas fields, in nuclear reactors, 
hydro‑electric power plants or wind turbines. 
The level of primary energy production may 
fluctuate considerably from one year to the 
next as a result of changes in energy demand 
(reflecting economic fortunes), the development 

of energy prices (which is affected by the level of 
market supply and demand) and environmental 
conditions (particularly for some renewable 
sources).

In 2014, the EU‑28’s primary energy production 
amounted to 771 million toe, which was 17.3 % 
lower than in 2004 (see Figure 11.1). The general 
downward movement of EU‑28 production 
was quite regular, except for 2009 when it fell 
considerably, in part due to the effects of the 
global financial and economic crisis. Lower levels 
of production in the EU‑28 may, at least in part, 
be attributed to resources becoming exhausted 
and/or uneconomical.

Primary energy production in Turkey was 31.0 
million toe in 2014, by far the largest value 
recorded amongst the enlargement countries, 
ahead of the 9.5 million toe of energy production 
in Serbia. In contrast to the situation in the 
EU‑28, primary energy production increased 
between 2004 and 2014 in most enlargement 
countries, most notably in Albania (up 71.4 %) 
and Bosnia and Herzegovina (68.6 %) and to a 
lesser extent in Montenegro (48.1 %; 2005–2014), 
Kosovo and Turkey (both up 27.6 %). There were 
two enlargement countries where primary 
production of energy fell during the most recent 

Figure	11.1:	Primary energy production, 2004–2014 (1)
(2004 = 100)

175

150

125

100

75

50

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

(1)  Note that the y-axis does not start at 0.
(2)  2004: not available. 2005 = 100.
(3)  2014: provisional.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nrg_100a and cpc_energy)

104

EU-28

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Montenegro (2)

Kosovo

Turkey

Serbia

The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (3)

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEnergy

11

Figure	11.2:	Primary production of energy by product, 2014
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

EU-28

Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1)
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo (2)

Coal and lignite

Crude oil

Natural gas

Others

Not classified

(1)  Provisional.
(2)  Only data for coal and lignite available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nrg_100a and cpc_energy)

10‑year period for which data are available: 
Serbia (− 20.6 %) and the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (− 21.0 %).

Natural endowments of fossil fuels largely 
determine the structure of primary energy 
production. Energy production in the EU‑28 is 
quite varied, reflecting the availability of different 
fossil fuel deposits and the potential for hydro 
power, as well as different policies in relation 
to the production of energy from nuclear fuels 
and renewables. In 2014, nuclear and renewable 
energy sources (under ‘Others’ in Figure 2) 
made up more than half (56.4 %) of the EU‑28’s 
energy production. By contrast, many of the 
enlargement countries have an energy mix 
that is dominated by just one source of energy. 
For example, more than four fifths (83.6 %) of 
Kosovo’s energy production was from coal and 
lignite, while coal and lignite accounted for more 
than half of all primary production in all but one 
of the remaining enlargement countries; Albania 
was the exception, with crude oil its main source 
of primary energy production (67.7 %).

Net imports and gross inland 
energy consumption

EU‑28 net imports of energy stood at 880.9 
million toe in 2014; this was 13.1 % lower than 
in 2008, when a relative peak in net imports 
had been recorded (at the onset of the global 
financial and economic crisis). All of the 
enlargement countries were also net importers 
of energy in 2014 (see Table 1). Their combined 
net imports of energy were 105.4 million toe 
in 2014, equivalent to 12.0 % of the EU‑28 total; 
the seven enlargement countries combined net 
imports of energy in 2008 had been equivalent 
to 8.7 % of the EU‑28 total that year.

In 2014, Turkey had the highest quantity of net 
imports of energy among the enlargement 
countries, at 97.0 million toe. Turkish net imports 
of energy rose overall by 51.9 % between 2004 
and 2014, a rate that was only surpassed in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina (where the rapid pace 
of growth was from a very low initial level). By 
contrast, the quantity of net imports of energy 
fell at a faster pace than in the EU‑28 in three of 
the enlargement countries, as between 2004 and 
2014 reductions of 39–43 % were recorded in 
Albania, Serbia and Montenegro (2006–2014).

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  11 Energy

Gross inland energy consumption is the energy 
that a country requires to meet its internal 
(national) demand. The main difference between 
levels of primary energy production and gross 
inland energy consumption is international trade: 
a shortfall of production needs to be met by net 
imports, while a production surplus is generally 
accompanied by net exports. As well as primary 
production and international trade, gross inland 
consumption takes into account changes in 
stocks and the supply of energy to bunkers (for 
international transport).

In 2014, the EU‑28’s gross inland energy 
consumption was 1.61 billion toe, having fallen 
from a peak of 1.84 billion toe in 2006. There was 
generally a downward path to the development 
of gross inland consumption in the EU‑28 over 
the last decade, with a notable fall in 2009 and 
a rebound in 2010, both related to the global 
financial and economic crisis (see Figure 11.3). 
Based on a comparison between 2004 and 2014, 
gross inland energy consumption in the EU‑28 
was 12.0 % lower at the end of the period.

Table	11.1:	Net imports of energy, 2004–2014
(million toe)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia (1)
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

(1)  2008: break in series.

2004

939.4 
:
1.2 

1.1 
6.6 
63.9 
0.0 
0.5 

2006

1 014.0 
0.5 
1.3 

0.8 
0.8 
73.8 
0.2 
0.6 

2008

1 014.2 
0.5 
1.4 

0.9 
6.4 
78.3 
0.2 
0.6 

2010

954.2 
0.3 
1.3 

0.6 
6.3 
79.4 
0.3 
0.6 

2012

923.0 
0.4 
1.5 

0.3 
4.2 
91.8 
0.6 
0.7 

2014

880.9 
0.3 
1.4 

0.7 
3.8 
97.0 
1.7 
0.5 

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nrg_100a and cpc_energy)

Figure	11.3:	Gross inland consumption of energy, 2004–2014 (1)
(2004 = 100)

250

200

150

100

50

0

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

(1)  2004: not available. 2005 = 100.
(2)  2014: provisional.
(3)  2005 and 2007: break in series.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nrg_100a and cpc_energy)

106

EU-28

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Turkey

Montenegro (1)

Kosovo

Albania

The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (2)

Serbia (3)

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEnergy

11

There were greater fluctuations in the 
development of gross inland energy consumption 
among the enlargement countries. Energy 
consumption in Serbia fell overall by 23.2 % 
between 2004 and 2014, the largest decrease 
among the enlargement countries and the only 
enlargement country to record a bigger reduction 
than that for the EU‑28; it should however be 
noted that there are breaks in the time series. 
Although gross inland energy consumption in 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was 
relatively volatile in recent years, the overall impact 
was a 4.4 % reduction when comparing 2004 
and 2014. By contrast, gross inland consumption 
of energy rose in the other five enlargement 
countries, with single‑digit overall increases in 
Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro (2005–2014), 
and far higher rates of change in Turkey (up 41.1 %) 
and Bosnia and Herzegovina (116.9 %).

Figure 11.4 provides information on the 
development of energy consumption relative 
to population: it shows that gross inland 
consumption of energy in the EU‑28 fell from 
3 703 kilograms of oil equivalent (kgoe) per 
inhabitant in 2004 to 3 168 kgoe per inhabitant 
in 2014, a reduction of 14.5 %.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2 035 kgoe per 
inhabitant) recorded the highest level of 

consumption per inhabitant in 2014 among 
the enlargement countries. At the other end of 
the range, the level of consumption in Albania 
(808 kgoe per inhabitant) was approximately one 
quarter of the average level recorded in the EU‑28.

Energy dependency is calculated as the ratio of 
net imports (imports − exports) to gross inland 
consumption, expressed as a percentage; a 
negative ratio indicates that a country is a net 
exporter of energy products. The EU‑28’s energy 
dependency was 53.5 % in 2014. Turkey had 
the highest energy dependency ratio in 2014, 
as net imports accounted for 78.3 % of gross 
inland energy consumption. The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia was the only other 
enlargement country to report that net imports 
supplied more than half (52.6 %) of gross inland 
energy consumption; across the remaining 
enlargement countries this ratio was within the 
range of 20–30 %.

Between 2004 and 2014, the EU‑28’s energy 
dependency rose by 3.3 percentage points. There 
were also increases in the dependency ratios of 
Kosovo, Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. By 
contrast, Serbia, Montenegro (2005–2014) and 
Albania each reported a reduction in energy 
dependency over the period under consideration.

Figure	11.4:	Gross inland consumption of energy, 2004 and 2014
(kgoe per inhabitant)

0

500

1 000

1 500

2 000

2 500

3 000

3 500

4 000

EU-28

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia (1)
Turkey
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2)
Kosovo
Albania

(1)  Break in series.
(2)  2014: provisional.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nrg_100a, demo_pjan, cpc_energy and cpc_psdemo)

2004

2014

107

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  11 Energy

Figure	11.5:	Energy dependency, 2004 and 2014 (1)
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

EU-28

Turkey
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2)
Montenegro (3)
Kosovo
Serbia (4)
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina

(1)  For the EU-28: net imports/(gross inland 

consumption+bunkers)*100. For the enlargement countries: 
net imports/gross inland consumption*100.in other words 
without adjusting for bunkers.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nrg_100a and cpc_energy)

Figure	11.6:	Energy intensity, 2004–2014 (1)
(kgoe per EUR 1 000 of GDP)

2004

2014

(2)  2014: provisional.
(3)  2005 instead of 2004.
(4)  Break in series.

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

EU-28

Serbia

Kosovo

The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (2)

Montenegro

Turkey (3)

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

(1)  Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina: not available. Based on 
chain-linked GDP volume data with 2010 reference year.

(2)  2014: provisional.
(3)  Based on GDP at 2005 constant prices.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: tsdec360) and Eurostat enlargement data collection

Energy intensity is measured as a ratio which 
relates the quantity of energy consumed to 
the level of economic output. The indicator is 
calculated as gross inland energy consumption 
(expressed in kgoe) divided by gross domestic 
product (GDP) in constant prices (or using 
chain‑linked volume data) to remove the effects 
of inflation. As well as reflecting the efficiency 
of transforming energy sources (for example to 
electricity) or converting energy to heat, motion, 
light and other uses, this measure also depends 
on a range of factors, such as the economic 

structure of a country, the climate, the standard 
of living and transportation patterns/preferences, 
to name but a few.

In the EU‑28, some 122 kgoe of energy were 
required to produce EUR 1 000 of GDP at 2010 
prices (see Figure 11.6). In Turkey, 1.8 times as 
much energy was required (compared with the 
EU‑28) to produce each unit of economic output 
(note that for Turkey the GDP data are based 
on 2005 prices), while in Montenegro this ratio 
rose to 2.4, in the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia to 2.8, and in Serbia and Kosovo to 

108

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEnergy

11

3.6. The energy intensity of the EU‑28 and all of 
the enlargement countries (for which data are 
available) was lower in 2014 than in 2004.

final energy consumption for industry, notably 
in Turkey where the share of industry reached a 
high of 32.5 %.

Final energy consumption

Final energy consumption is lower than 
gross inland energy consumption, as some 
energy is lost during the process of converting 
fossil fuels into electricity or crude oil into 
petroleum products, and some is used for 
non‑energy purposes, such as feedstock 
for the petrochemical industry. Final energy 
consumption may be analysed by end use, 
with information on consumption within 
the industrial sector, the transport sector, 
households and a residual category of others 
(largely composed of services).

Industry accounted for approximately one 
quarter of the EU‑28’s final energy consumption 
in 2014 (see Table 11.2); its share rose from 
24.0 % in 2009 to 25.9 % in 2014; note that the 
start of this five‑year period (2009) was a low 
point in industrial activity as a result of the 
global financial and economic crisis. Several 
enlargement countries had higher shares of 

The share of final energy consumed by transport 
was 33.2 % in the EU‑28 in 2014, which, with the 
exception of Albania (40.7 %), was higher than 
in the enlargement countries. The relative share 
of transport in final energy consumption rose 
between 2009 and 2014 in the EU‑28 and three 
of the enlargement countries, the exceptions 
being Serbia (no change), Albania (a small 
fall) and Kosovo (a larger fall); no comparison 
available for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The share of final energy consumption by 
households was just under one quarter (24.8 %) 
in the EU‑28 in 2014, which was a smaller 
share than in all but one of the enlargement 
countries; the exception was Turkey, where 
households accounted for 22.3 % of final 
energy consumption. Among the enlargement 
countries, the share of final energy consumption 
by households peaked in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (48.1 % in 2014), while shares of 
close to two fifths were recorded in Kosovo and 
Montenegro.

Table	11.2:	Analysis of final energy consumption, 2009 and 2014
(%)

EU-28
Montenegro
The former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo

Industry

Transport

Households

Others

2009
24.0 
29.2 
25.2 

15.2 
25.5 
29.4 
: 
20.4 

2014
25.9 
18.8 
29.7 

18.0 
26.4 
32.5 
20.8 
20.8 

2009
32.8 
27.1 
26.3 

41.6 
27.0 
23.6 
: 
30.2 

2014
33.2 
30.0 
31.3 

40.7 
27.0 
27.5 
22.2 
24.3 

2009
26.7 
42.3 
32.5 

26.2 
36.0 
30.7 
: 
38.4 

2014
24.8 
39.7 
26.1 

26.9 
35.2 
22.3 
48.1 
41.5 

2009
16.5 
1.4 
16.0 

17.0 
11.4 
16.3 
: 
11.0 

2014
16.1 
11.5 
12.8 

14.3 
11.5 
17.7 
8.9 
13.4 

Source: Eurostat (online data code: nrg_100a)

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  11 Energy

Electricity generation

The use of renewable energy sources for 
electricity generation is seen as a key element 
of the EU’s energy policy: it should help to 
reduce dependence on fuel from non‑member 
countries; reduce emissions from carbon‑based 
energy sources; and decouple energy costs 
from oil prices. The EU‑28 came close to its 
target of a 21 % contribution from renewable 
energy sources to electricity production by 
2010. Its share was 19.7 % and this subsequently 
rose above the target in 2011 and grew further 
still to attain 27.5 % by 2014. In the five years 
between 2009 and 2014 the share of electricity 
produced from renewable energy sources in the 
EU‑28 increased by 8.5 percentage points (see 
Figure 11.7).

Hydro‑power was often the major source of 
renewable energy for electricity generation in 
the enlargement countries, the output of which 
is dependent (to some degree) on the amount of 
rainfall (which may vary considerably from one 
year to the next). In four of the six enlargement 
countries for which data are available (no 
information for Kosovo), the propensity to 
generate electricity from renewable energy 
sources was above that recorded by the EU‑28 
in 2014. This was most notably the case in 
Montenegro, where renewable energy sources 
accounted for a 54.1 % share of the electricity 
produced, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(44.5 %). There were however two enlargement 
countries where the share of electricity produced 
from renewable energy sources was lower than 
in the EU‑28, namely, Turkey (21.1 %) and the 
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (15.5 %).

Figure	11.7:	Electricity produced from renewable energy sources, 2009 and 2014 (1)
(% of gross electricity consumption)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

EU-28

Montenegro (2)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)
Serbia
Albania
Turkey
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

(1)  Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2009: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: nrg_ind_335a and cpc_energy)

2009

2014

110

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition12 Environment

12 Environment

The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable 
and inclusive growth was adopted in 2010: one 
of its flagship initiatives concerns resource‑
efficient Europe, while there are three specific 
targets related to the environment and climate 
change to be achieved by 2020, namely:

•	greenhouse gas emissions should fall to 20 % 

lower than in 1990;

•	20 % of the energy used in the EU should be 

from renewables; and

•	there should be a 20 % increase in energy 

efficiency.

Eurostat, in close partnership with the 
European Environment Agency (EEA), provides 
environmental statistics, accounts and indicators 
supporting the development, implementation, 
monitoring and evaluation of the EU’s 
environmental policies, strategies and initiatives. 
Data on greenhouse gas emissions, as reported 
under the United Nations framework convention 
on climate change (UNFCCC), are collected 
by the EEA. Eurostat organises and collects 
environmental statistics in relation to a broad 
range of data, for example, waste, water, material 
flows and environmental protection expenditure.

Greenhouse gas and carbon 
dioxide emissions

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement 
linked to the UNFCCC which was agreed in 
1997 and has the objective of curbing global 
warming. With the exception of Kosovo, all of 
the enlargement countries ratified the Kyoto 
Protocol and it entered into force across the 
region during the period 2005–2009. Under 
the Kyoto Protocol a number of industrialised 
and transition economies — referred to as 
Annex I parties — committed to targets for the 
reduction of six greenhouse gases or groups 
of gases, namely: carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous 
oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), hydrofluorocarbons 
(HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur 
hexafluoride (SF6). The EU is also an Annex I 
party and was composed of 15 Member States 

112

when it adopted the Kyoto Protocol. It agreed to 
reduce EU‑15 greenhouse gas emissions by 8 % 
during the period 2008–2012 (compared with 
their 1990 levels). Among other environmental 
commitments, the EU‑28 has subsequently 
committed to a 20 % reduction in greenhouse 
gas emissions by 2020. A new agreement on 
greenhouse gas emissions was reached in Paris 
in late 2015; this provides the basis for emissions 
mitigation and adaptation from 2020 onwards.

The indicator presented in Figure 12.1 shows the 
combined development of emissions for these 
six gases, based on carbon dioxide equivalents, 
which make it possible to compare their overall 
contributions to global warming. The index for 
total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU‑28 
was relatively stable up until 2006, although 
there were progressively large reductions in 
emissions in 2007, 2008 and 2009, in part related 
to the global financial and economic crisis and 
associated reductions in levels of industrial 
activity. In 2010, greenhouse gas emissions 
picked up again, reflecting a rebound in 
economic activity, but in the next four years the 
quantity of greenhouse gas emissions followed 
a downward trend; by 2014, the EU‑28 index was 
18.5 % lower than it had been in 2004.

Like the EU‑28, Montenegro recorded an overall 
decline in its level of greenhouse gas emissions 
after 2004 (time series available up until 2013), 
with a particularly strong fall in 2009, reflecting 
a large contraction in industrial output that was 
observed in Montenegro during the financial and 
economic crisis.

The time series for Turkey reveals that there was 
an increase in greenhouse gas emissions through 
to 2007, falls in 2008 and 2009 — therefore also 
during the crisis — before increases again up 
until 2012; there was a slight fall in the quantity 
of Turkish greenhouse gas emissions in 2013, 
although this was followed by an increase in 
2014. A comparison between 2004 and 2014 
exposes a level of greenhouse gas emissions in 
Turkey in 2014 that was 28.3 % higher than it had 
been a decade before.

  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEnvironment

12

There are shorter time series available for Albania 
and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
running until 2009. These both show a rather 
inconsistent development, with neither increases 
nor decreases dominating.

As noted above, carbon dioxide is one of the 
greenhouse gases: it has the lowest global 
warming potential of the six greenhouse gases. 
Nevertheless, emissions of carbon dioxide were 
far greater in the EU‑28 than for any of the other 
greenhouse gases even when adjusted for 
global warming potential. As a consequence, the 

developments shown in Figure 12.2 for the EU‑28 
and Turkey reflect to a large extent those already 
seen in Figure 12.1.

In Montenegro, emissions of carbon dioxide were 
relatively stable from 2003 until 2007, after which 
their development became more volatile, with 
a sharp increase in 2008 followed by an even 
sharper decrease in 2009 coinciding with the crisis; 
subsequently there was a large rebound in 2010 
as carbon dioxide emissions rose again, following 
which they fell at a relatively slow pace, and by 2013 
they were below their level of a decade before.

Figure	12.1:	Development of total greenhouse gas emissions, 2004–2014 (¹)
(2004 = 100; based on co2 equivalents)
150

125

100

75

50

25

0

EU-28

Turkey

Albania (2)(3)

The former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (2)

Montenegro (4)

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

(1)  Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2010–2014: not available.

(3)  2005 and 2008: estimates.
(4)  2014: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: env_air_gge and cpc_enclimwa)

Figure	12.2:	Development of carbon dioxide emissions, 2003–2013 (1)
(2003 = 100)

150

125

100

75

50

25

0

EU-28 (2)

Turkey

Montenegro (3)

2003

2005
(1)  The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, 

2004

2006

2007

2008

2009

2011

2010
(2)  2003–2008: index based on rates of change for EU-27.  

2012

2013

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo: not available.

2008–2013: index based on rates of change for EU-28; estimates.

(3)  Excluding carbon sinks.

Source: Eurostat (online data codes: env_ac_ainah_r1 and env_ac_ainah_r2) and enlargement data collection

113

Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  12 Environment

Municipal waste

The management and disposal of waste can 
have serious environmental implications, taking 
up space and potentially releasing pollution 
into the air, water or soil. Municipal waste is 
that which is collected by, or on behalf of, 
municipal authorities and disposed of through 
a waste management system. Municipal waste 
is mainly produced by households, though 
similar wastes from sources such as distributive 
trades, offices and public institutions are 
included; waste from agriculture and from 
industry is excluded. For areas not covered 
by a municipal waste collection scheme the 
reporting countries estimate the amount of 
waste generated. Municipal waste includes the 
following categories of waste: organic, paper and 
cardboard, textiles, plastics, glass, metals and 
other waste.

In 2014, the average amount of municipal waste 
generated per inhabitant in the EU‑28 was 
474 kilograms (kg), in other words, just less than 
half a tonne. This represented a fall of about 
30 kg in the quantity of waste generated in the 
EU‑28 since 2010, an overall reduction of 5.8 %. 
Among the enlargement countries, the average 
quantity of municipal waste that was generated 
ranged from 260 kg per inhabitant in Serbia to 
402 kg per inhabitant in Turkey (2014 data), with 
Montenegro (541 kg per inhabitant) above this 
range (and also above the EU‑28 average) and 
Kosovo (140 kg per inhabitant; 2014 data) below 
it (see Figure 12.3). The quantity of municipal 
waste generated per inhabitant increased 
by 6.0 % overall in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(2010–2014) and by 9.4 % in the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia (2010–2013), while it fell 
elsewhere (no data available for Albania); the 
largest reductions were registered in Serbia and 
in Kosovo (2010–2014).

Figure	12.3:	Quantity of municipal waste generated per person, 2010 and 2015
(kilograms per inhabitant)

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

EU-28 (2)(3)

Montenegro (4)
Turkey (3)
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (5)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)(3)
Serbia (2)
Kosovo (3)

(1)  Albania: not available.
(2)  Estimates.
(3)  2014 instead of 2015.

2010

2015

(4)  2011 instead of 2010.
(5)  2013 instead of 2015.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: env_wasmun) and enlargement data collection

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  Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 editionEnvironment

12

Municipal waste can be treated in a number of 
ways, most notably by landfill, incineration (with 
or without energy recovery) and recovery (for 
example, material recycling and composting). 
The proportion of households from which 
household waste is regularly collected by or 
on behalf of municipal authorities was quite 
similar across the enlargement countries, ranging 
from 73 % in the former Yugoslav Republic of 
Macedonia (2013 data) to 82 % in Serbia (2015 
data), with the proportion in Turkey (91 %; 2014 
data) above this range and in Kosovo (65 %; 2014 
data) below this range.

In the five enlargement countries for which 
data are available (no data for Albania, partial 
data for Kosovo), the proportion of households 
from which waste was regularly collected was 
stable or increased between 2010 and 2015 (see 
Figure 12.4). There was almost no change in the 
proportions recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina 
(2010–2014) and in the former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia (2010–2013), while the share of 
households rose in Montenegro (2011–2015) by 
5 percentage points, in Turkey (2010–2014) by 8 
percentage points, and in Serbia (2010–2015) by 
10 percentage points.

Figure	12.4:	Proportion of households served by municipal waste collection services, 
2010 and 2015 (1)
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Turkey (2)

Serbia (3)

Montenegro (4)

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)(3)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (5)

Kosovo (2)(6)

(1)  Albania: not available.
(2)  2014 instead of 2015.
(3)  Estimates.

Source: Eurostat enlargement data collection

2010

2015

(4)  2011 instead of 2010.
(5)  2013 instead of 2015.
(6)  2010: not available.

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Key figures on enlargement countries — 2017 edition  12 Environment

Wastewater

The enlargement countries are not immune to 
many of the environmental issues the world 
is facing, and issues such as the quality and 
scarcity of water or soil erosion are particularly 
important. Indeed, water is essential for life and 
an indispensable resource for the economy 
(especially within the agricultural sector).

Water is supplied by economic units engaged 
in the collection, purification and distribution 
of water, while water suppliers are often also 
responsible for collecting wastewater. The 
proportion of the population connected to 
wastewater treatment plants covers those 
connected to any kind of sewage treatment 
facility; it excludes those connected to 

wastewater systems that simply discharge 
wastewater (without any treatment) into the 
environment. Indeed, when wastewater is 
released untreated back onto the land, or into 
the sea or rivers, it can become a significant 
health risk.

In each of the five enlargement countries shown 
in Figure 12.5 the proportion of the population 
connected to urban wastewater treatment 
systems (with at least secondary treatment) 
was relatively low, only standing above one half 
(54 %) in Albania in 2014. However, the share of 
the population connected to urban wastewater 
treatment systems increased in the four 
enlargement countries for which a comparison is 
available between 2010 and 2015.

Figure	12.5:	Proportion of population connected to urban wastewater treatment, 
2010 and 2015 (1)
(%)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Albania (2)(3)

Turkey (2)(4)

Serbia

Bosnia and Herzegovina (2)(5)

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (6)

(1)  Montenegro and Kosovo: not available.
(2)  2014 instead of 2015.
(3)  Break in series. 2014: estimate.

2010

2015

(4)  2010: Share of the municipal population only.
(5)  Estimates.
(6)  2009 instead of 2010. 2015: not available.

Source: Eurostat (online data code: env_ww_con) and enlargement data collection

116

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Key figures on  
enlargement countries
2017	EdITIOn

the 2017 edition of Key figures on enlargement countries 
presents updated series of key statistical data for five 
candidate countries and two potential candidates, as 
well as data for the EU-28. the candidate countries, at the 
time of writing were Montenegro, the former Yugoslav 
Republic of Macedonia, albania, serbia and turkey, while 
the potential candidates were bosnia and Herzegovina 
and kosovo (this designation is without prejudice to 
positions on status, and is in line with UNscR 1244 
and the icJ opinion on the kosovo Declaration of 
independence).

the tables, figures and associated commentary and 
methodological notes concern key social, economic 
and environmental themes for which data are collected 
annually from the enlargement countries through 
a series of harmonised questionnaires or as part of 
Eurostat’s regular collection of data on demography, 
national accounts, energy and international trade.

For	more	information:
Eurostat:	 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

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isbN 978-92-79-70772-8  
issN 2315-1943 
doi: 10.2785/3284