The State of Europe – Richest and Poorest Countries in the Continent

The European economy has 50 countries and a market of more than 740 million people. The formation of the European Union in 1999 and the adoption of the Euro made the continent even more productive as it improved convenience and participation.
Most countries in Europe have GDP per capita higher than average those of the world. However, there is a divide between the countries behind the former Iron curtain and those of Western Europe. By 2010, Europe had $19.920 in nominal GDP, which represented 30.2% of the world economy. The European Union produced between 75 to 80% of the GDP of the continent, which is about $20 trillion.
The EU is currently the most significant and wealthiest economy in the world, beating the US by up to $2 trillion in 2008. Essential industries in Europe include the services sector, investment, and banking, tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture. The region currently has more than $33 trillion assets under management, which is more than a third of the entire Globe’s wealth. Europe is the headquarters of 184 of the largest 500 companies by revenue on the Globe. In 2010 just as the effects of the financial crisis were wearing off, Europeans, particularly in Western Europe, enjoyed some of the highest standards of living in the world.

United Kingdom

The UK is the world’s fifth largest economy and the second largest in Europe behind Germany. It has what may be referred to as a partially regulated market economy. Alongside New York, London, the capital is the largest financial center in the world with the service sector, making up 79% of the entire country’s GDP.

Important industries include tourism, where the UK is the sixth most significant in terms of tourist numbers. Other industries include vehicle manufacturing, which has some of the most known global brands such as Jaguar and Rolls Royce, which manufactures jet engines and luxury cars.

credit: Wikipedia
The UK aerospace industry is the third largest in the world, with an annual turnover of £30 billion. Other important industries are the space industry that in 2011 was worth £9.1 billion, pharmaceuticals which have the third highest expenditures in research and development, and highly mechanized and intensive agriculture that provides 60% of what the UK needs.

GDP global rank: 5th
GDP per capita global rank: 20th

GDP European rank: 2nd
GDP per cpita European rank: 22rd

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