EU domestic production up in 2023

In 2023, domestic production accounted for €33,715 billion (91.5% of the total supply of goods and services in the EU), while imports contributed €3,147 billion (8.5%). This was an increase in domestic production of €1 259 billion (from €32,455 billion, 90.3% of total supply) compared with 2022, while imports fell by €330 billion (from €3 477 billion, 9.7%).

The data suggest that the spike in energy prices led to a higher share of imports in 2022. In 2023, however, the EU’s import and domestic production shares returned to their 2021 levels, reflecting a return to levels before the energy crisis. 

The highest import dependency ratio was recorded for the industrial products, with a 15.4% share of imports (€1 829 billion in imports value and €10 034 billion in domestic production) in 2023.

This information comes from supply, use, and input-output tables for the EU, published by Eurostat today. This article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on supply and use tables for the European Union and the euro area.

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Source dataset: naio_10_cp15

When it came to the use of goods and services, in 2023 nearly half (48.1%) of the products supplied in the EU were used for intermediate consumption, i.e. to produce other goods and services. Final consumption, primarily by households and governments, accounted for 32.1%, while exports and gross capital formation, including investments, made up around 10% of product use each.

The EU supply and use pattern reveals a notable shift in the external trade balance from 2022 to 2023. While imports decreased €330 billion in 2023, partly due to decreasing global energy prices, exports decreased by only €16 billion. As a result, the EU’s trade surplus more than doubled, rising from €228 billion in 2022 to €542 billion in 2023.

Strong growth in domestic production, combined with moderate growth in intermediate consumption, led to a €1 048 billion increase in gross value added, reaching a level of €15 545 billion in 2023.

For more information

• Statistics Explained article on supply and use tables for the European Union and the euro area
• Statistics Explained article on supply and use tables for individual countries
• Thematic section on ESA supply, use and input-output tables
• Database on ESA supply, use and input-output tables
• Globalization dashboard

Methodological notes

• The supply, use, and input-output tables for the EU and euro area are derived from the EU inter-country FIGARO supply, use, and input-output tables. For 2022 and 2023, estimates were made using the FIGARO methodology, as official tables from individual countries are not yet available. The EU and euro area are treated as single economies. Thus, trade between countries composing these economies is considered as domestic. All transactions are reported at basic prices.
• Supply, use and input-output tables are the backbone of national accounts. They balance data from different sources in a consistent framework and facilitate the compilation of a single and coherent estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) from a production, expenditure and income perspective. They are defined in the European system of accounts (ESA 2010).
• Methodological explanations are also available in the Eurostat manual of supply, use and input-output tables and the United Nations handbook on supply and use tables and input-output tables with extensions and applications.

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