In 2022, environmental tax revenue in the EU amounted to €317.2 billion (2.0% of the EU’s gross domestic product; GDP) compared with €330.2 billion recorded in 2021, indicating a 4% decrease (-€13 billion). The long-term upward trend resumed after the exceptional years of 2020 and 2021 (COVID-19). However, 2022 remains notable due to the situation […]
The Community of Madrid is the EU region with the highest life expectancy at birth
In 2022, the life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.6 years, up by 0.5 years from 2021. Over two decades, since 2002, the highest value was recorded in 2019 when life expectancy at birth reached 81.3 years (up 3.7 years compared with 2002). However, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, this indicator declined to 80.4 in […]
Eurostat: EU fruit and vegetable production in 2022
The EU produces a wide range of fresh vegetables and fruit. Fresh vegetables were cultivated on 2.0 million hectares of land across the EU in 2022, on which 59.8 million tonnes of crops were harvested. The three most commonly grown fresh vegetables – in quantity terms – were tomatoes (15.4 million tonnes of harvested production), onions (6.2 […]
Electricity from renewable sources up to 41% in 2022
In 2022, renewable energy sources made up 41.2% of gross electricity consumption in the EU, 3.4 percentage points (pp) more than in 2021 (37.8%) and well ahead of other electricity-generation sources such as nuclear (less than 22%), gas (less than 20%) or coal (less than 17%). In total, renewable energy sources increased by 5.7% from […]
Battery-only electric cars continued to increase in 2022
In 2022, the number of battery-only electric passenger cars in the EU countries almost reached 3.0 million, which is a +55% increase compared with 2021 (1.9 million). The highest annual rate of increase in battery-only electric passenger cars in the period 2013-2022 was noted between 2019 and 2020 (+85%), followed by the increase in 2021 […]
EU expenditure on R&D reaches €352 billion in 2022
In 2022, the EU spent €352 billion on research & development (R&D), 6.34% more than in the previous year (€331 billion) and 48.52% more than in 2012 (€237 billion). When looking at R&D intensity, i.e. R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, data show a slight decrease from 2.27% in 2021 to 2.22% in 2022. […]
Erasmus+ supported mobility opportunities for more than 1.2 million students and teachers in 2022
Erasmus+, the EU’s programme for education, training, youth and sport, supported some 26,000 projects in 2022, benefitting over 73,000 organisations. It provided learning mobility opportunities to more than 1.2 million students, learners, professors, teachers, trainers, youth workers and young people. These are the main results of the 2022 edition of the Erasmus+ Annual Report, presented today […]
The year 2022 was the second-worst year for wildfires in the EU
In 2022, land roughly the size of Corsica was scorched by wildfires in the EU, according to the latest JRC report on fires in the pan-European region. It’s a third year in a row that unprecedented wildfire events cause large environmental and economic damage in the EU and, often, tragic loss of life. While most […]
European Day of Languages 2023
Today, 26 September, we would like to celebrate the European Day of Languages with all of you. The European Day of Languages (EDL) is an annual initiative held every 26 September involving numerous language institutions, associations, universities and, in particular, schools. This day, which has been celebrated since 2001, is a unique opportunity to raise […]