EU-US Facts & Figures

Did you know …

• EU and US-based companies account for nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the top R&D companies worldwide.  (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2011)

• EU-US trade climbed to $636 billion in 2011, 14 percent more than the previous year. (Source: US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration)

• The transatlantic economy generates close to $5 trillion in total commercial sales a year and employs up to 15 million workers in mutually “onshored” jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2011)

• The transatlantic economy is the largest and wealthiest market in the world, accounting for over 54% of world GDP in terms of value and 40% in terms of purchasing power. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2011)

• The U.S. and Europe are each other’s primary source and destination for foreign direct investment, accounting for more than 60 percent of the inward stock of foreign direct investment (FDI), and more than 75 percent of outward FDI stock worldwide in 2009. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2011)

• US investment in the Netherlands from 2000 to 2010 was nine times more than US investment in China during the same period. US investment in the UK was more than seven times more, and in Ireland nearly three times more, than in China. (Source: Transatlantic Economy 2011

• A 2009 study found that removing 50 percent of current non-tariff measures on bilateral trade could boost EU and US GDP by more than €160 billion (approximately $208 billion). (Source: European Commission)

• According to a 2011 study, gains from a free trade agreement between the EU and US could add up to nearly €120 billion (approximately $156 billion). (Source: European Center for International Political Economy)

• The EU and US together contributed over $100 billion in official development assistance in 2010.  (Sources: OECD, USAID,EuropeAid)

• As of January 2011, nearly 1.7 million refugees from around the world call the US or an EU Member State home. (Source: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)

• In 2009/10, more then 188,000 students from the US and EU studied abroad on the other side of the Atlantic. (Source:Institute of International Education)

• More than 10 million EU tourists traveled to the US in 2010. (Source: US Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration)

Find more EU facts and figures in our state profiles, which include information on EU relations with each US state.