In absolute terms, the production of electricity from renewable energy sources increased by almost 5% from 2020 to 2021. However, also gross electricity consumption increased mainly due to economic recovery after lifting COVID-19 restrictions. As a result, the share of renewable energy sources in gross electricity consumption in the EU only increased by 0.1 percentage points (pp), from 37.4% in 2020 to […]
How much do households spend on food and alcohol?
In 2021, households in the EU spent over €1 035bn (equivalent to 7.1% of the total EU GDP) on ‘Food and non-alcoholic beverages’. This represents a share of 14.3% of total household expenditure. Compared with 2020 (14.8% share), this represents a decrease of 0.5 percentage points (pp). The highest shares for ‘Food and non-alcoholic beverages’ […]
According to Eurostat, fossil fuels accounted for 70% of the total energy consumed in the EU
The EU continues to largely rely on fossil fuels for its overall energy supply, as illustrated by the ratio of fossil fuels in gross available energy (the total energy demand of a country or region). In 2021, fossil fuels made up 70% of gross available energy in the EU, remaining at the same level as in 2020. This percentage […]
Nights booked online up 9% in the Summer of 2022
During the third quarter of 2022, which included the traditional summer holiday months of July and August, guests spent around 251 million nights in short-term rental accommodation in the EU, booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group or TripAdvisor, an increase of around 24%, compared with the same period of 2021. With this value, platform tourism […]
Game on! Extra-EU toy imports totalled €7.1 billion
When embarking on the hunt for the perfect presents to delight children, toys are surely at the top of the list. The EU is a net importer of toys from the rest of the world, with €7.1 billion worth of toys imported from extra-EU countries in 2021. Extra-EU exports totalled around a third of this (€2.4 billion). China main toy importer to the EU China […]
EU ports still recovering from pandemic disruptions
Following a significant 45% fall in the number of passengers embarking and disembarking in EU ports in 2020 (compared with 2019), 2021 was more positive, with data showing a partial recovery. Compared with 2020, the number of passengers increased by 16%, reaching 267.9 million passengers from 230 million in 2020. This is still considerably below the levels […]
Plastic packaging waste: 38% recycled in 2020
In 2020, each person living in the EU generated 34.6 kg of plastic packaging waste on average. Out of these, 13.0 kg were recycled. This information comes from data on packaging waste published by Eurostat on 20 October. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article. Between 2010 and 2020, the volume of plastic packaging […]
The NEET rate within the EU and its Member States 2021
Today young people are changing jobs more frequently and it takes a longer time to get established on the labour market. Therefore, it is important to make sure that the transition from education to work is smooth and also highlight the risks of being neither in employment nor in education or training. There are risks, […]
Bread more expensive than ever
Bread, vegetables, meat – food has become more expensive. Prices for cooking oils and fats have risen particularly sharply, but important staple foods such as bread have also become significantly more costly. This is particularly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has significantly disturbed global markets since Russia and Ukraine have been major exporters of […]