Analytics, EU Regional Policy, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Modern EU

Things are pretty good in the eurozone presently: unemployment in he eurozone (of which all 3 Baltic States are members) is around 7,5% in the 2019-fall; annual growth in labour costs in this region is 2,7%, and international trade in goods there is a surplus of 24,8 bln euros. 

However, disparities among thousand of regions in the EU remain a big issue for decision-makers.

Population’s age

It is the highest in some parts of Greece, and lowest in one France’s region.

The median age of the EU population reached 43.1 years at the start of 2018. The lowest median ages were recorded in two outermost French regions Mayotte (18.1) and Guyane (26.1) and in five urban regions in the United Kingdom: in Nottingham (29.9), Manchester (30.0), Tower Hamlets (eastern London with 31.2), Leicester (31.8) and Southampton (32.2), which have relatively large student populations.

By contrast, the regions with the highest median ages included the central Greek region of Evrytania (55.0), the north-western Belgian region of Arr. Veurne (53.8) and nine German regions spread across three eastern German regions (Länder, e.g. in Thüringen, in Sachsen-Anhalt and in Brandenburg).

Employment rate of recent graduates

It is the highest in Niederbayern in Germany, lowest in Sicilia in Italy. There has been a general increase in the employment rate of recent graduates for five consecutive years. The EU-28 average stood at 80.6 % in 2018, which is getting closer to the Europe 2020 policy goal of 82 %

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In 2018, the employment rate for recent graduates was equal to or above the 82% benchmark in some regions across Czechia, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden, with the south-eastern German region of Niederbayern (97.6%) and the Czech region of Jihozápad (96.9%) recording the highest regional employment rates for recent graduates.

By contrast, four of the five regions in the EU with the lowest employment rate for recent graduates were located in southern Italy, Sicilia (27.3%), Basilicata (31.6%), Calabria (31.6%), Puglia (36.9%); and one in central Greece, Sterea Ellada (32.8 %).

Urbanisation

More than half of the world’s population reside in urban areas: cities continue to attract an increasing share of people in search of a job and an improved quality of life.

The EU has a diverse mix of cities: at one end of the scale are the global metropolises of London and Paris (with over 12 mln), Madrid and Berlin with 6 and 5 mln, Barcelona and Rome with 5 and 4,5 mln; while approximately half of the cities in the EU had a relatively small urban centres of between 50 000 and 100 000 inhabitants.

Many of the EU’s largest cities (especially capital cities) attract both national and international migrants and their population numbers therefore tend to increase at a faster pace than national averages.43.

Six of the 20 largest functional urban areas were in Germany, four in the United Kingdom, three in Italy and two in Spain. Budapest in Hungary was the only functional urban area from the eastern EU states among the 20 largest, and there was none from the northern EU states.

Reference: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-statistical-books/-/KS-HA-19-001