Main statistical findings

Current account

The current account of the balance of payments provides information not only on international trade in goods (generally the largest category), but also on international transactions in services, income and current transfers.

The current account deficit of the EU-27 was EUR 66 600 million in 2011 (see Figure 1), corresponding to 0.5 % of gross domestic product (GDP); this could be contrasted with data for 2010, when the current account deficit was EUR 82 200 million or 0.7 % of GDP. The latest developments for the EU-27’s current account showed a continuation of the pattern for smaller deficits – established in 2009, after the current account deficit peaked in 2008 at 2.1 % of GDP.

The current account deficit for 2011 comprised deficits in the current account for goods (-1.1 % of GDP) and current transfers (-0.5 %), alongside a positive balance (surplus) for services (0.9 %) and for the income account (0.2 %) – see Table 2.

There were 15 EU Member States that reported current account deficits in 2011, while ten recorded surpluses and two had more or less balanced current accounts (see Table 1): the largest deficits (relative to GDP) were in Cyprus (-10.4 %) and Greece (-10.1 %), while the Netherlands (8.7 %), Luxembourg (7.1 %) and Sweden (7.0 %) reported the largest current account surpluses. Ireland, Germany, Slovakia and Italy were the only EU Member States to report a current account deficit for services in 2011 (and these were relatively small), while Luxembourg (53.9 % of GDP), Cyprus (20.9 %) and Malta (19.9 %) reported relatively large surpluses. A total of 19 EU Member States reported a deficit for goods – most notably Cyprus (-24.5 % of GDP), while Ireland reported the largest surplus relative to GDP (23.3 %).

Among the partner countries and regions shown in Figure 2, the EU-27’s current account deficit was largest with China, standing at EUR 121 400 million in 2011, almost twice as large as the deficit with Russia (EUR 64 500 million) and over four times the deficit with Japan (these latter two countries accounted for the second and third largest EU-27 current account deficits). The highest current account surplus was recorded with the United States (EUR 64 200 million), just ahead of Switzerland (EUR 62 900 million); with surpluses also registered with Brazil, Hong Kong, Canada and India.

Date: 2014-12-21; view: 1433