UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT

UNESCO SCIENCE REPORT
The first signs of the economic stagnation that has plagued the
EU since 2008 were already visible in the UNESCO Science Report
2010. Over the cumulative five-year period to 2013, real growth
in the EU only amounted to 4.2%. Real GDP even declined over
this period in Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Slovenia and Spain, albeit to a modest extent, and
much more severely in Greece. Belgium, Luxembourg, Malta,
Poland and Romania, on the hand, enjoyed real growth of
10% or more. In 2013, average GDP per capita amounted to
€ 26 600 for the EU28 as a whole but this figure masked wide
differences: per capita GDP was lowest in the three newest
member states, Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, at less than
€ 16 000, close to € 35 000 in Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands
and Sweden and as high as € 68 700 in Luxembourg.
The rising average unemployment rate in the EU is cause for
concern but even more unsettling are the large differences
among member states. In 2013, 11% of the European active
population was unemployed, on average, an increase
of nearly four percentage points over 2008. The youth
unemployment rate was even higher, at almost 24% in 2013,
having risen nearly eight percentage points since 2008. Worst
hit were Greece and Spain, where more than one in four
were job-seekers. In Austria, Germany and Luxembourg, on
the other hand, the unemployment rate was lower than 6%.
Germany also stands out for being the only country where
the situation improved over the five-year period: from 7.4%
in 2008 to 5.2% in 2013. A similar pattern can be observed for
youth unemployment, with rates of 50% or more in Croatia,
Greece and Spain. This compares with less than 10% in Austria
and Germany. Germany and Luxembourg are the only two
countries where the situation has improved since 2008.
In many member states, public debt soared between 2008
and 2013 (Figure 9.1). Hardest hit were Cyprus, Greece,
Ireland and Portugal. Public debt progressed least in Bulgaria,
Figure 9.1: Government debt to GDP ratio for selected EU countries, 2008–2013 (%)
180
160
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Greece
Portugal
Italy
Ireland
Belgium
Cyprus
France
Spain
UK
Germany
Slovenia
Netherlands
Finland
Poland
EU28
Eurozone
Non-Euro countries
Source: Eurostat, April 2015; aggregate debt-to-GDP ratios for non-Eurozone countries based on authors’ calculations
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