Economy of the European Union

The economy of the European Union is the joint economy of the member states of the European Union (EU). It is the third largest economy in the world in nominal terms, after the United States and China, and the third one in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, after China and the United States. The European Union's GDP estimated to be around $16.6 trillion (nominal) in 2022 representing around one sixth of the global economy. Germany has by far the biggest national GDP of all EU countries, followed by France and Italy. The euro is the second largest reserve currency and the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar. The euro is used by 20 of its members, overall, it is the official currency in 26 countries, in the eurozone and in six other European countries, officially or de facto. The European Union economy consists of an internal market of mixed economies based on free market and advanced social models. For instance, it includes an internal single market with free movement of goods, services, capital, and labor. The GDP per capita (PPP) was$43,188 in 2018, compared to $62,869 in the United States,$44,246 in Japan and $18,116 in China. There are significant disparities in GDP per capita (PPP) between member states ranging from$106,372 in Luxembourg to $23,169 in Bulgaria. With a low Gini coefficient of 31, the European Union has a more egalitarian distribution of income than the world average. EU investments in foreign countries total$9.1 trillion, while the foreign investments made in the union total $5.1 trillion in 2012, by far the highest foreign and domestic investments in the world. Euronext is the main stock exchange of the Eurozone and the world's sixth largest by market capitalisation. The European Union's largest trading partners are the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Japan, Norway, South Korea, India, and Canada. In 2018, public debt in the union was 80% of GDP, with disparities between the lowest rate, Estonia with 8.