3.4 Statistical indicators in the description of society
Example 1: EU structural indicators
General economic background indicators provide a summary description of the development of key aspects of the economy. These include among others:
per capita GDP and GDP growth rate
labour productivity per person and per hour worked
employment growth by gender and total
inflation rate
unit labour cost growth
public balance
general government debt
In labour market issues the EU's political objectives are to remove obstacles to employment, to increase employment in the service sector and to support life-long learning. The attainment of these objectives is monitored by means of the following indicators among others:
employment rate and the employment rate of older workers
average exit age from the labour force
gender pay gap
tax rate on low wage earners
life-long learning
serious and fatal accidents at work
unemployment rate
Many of these indicators are calculated separately for men and women.
A key objective with respect to economic reform is to create an effective internal market in the EU. This is monitored with the following indicators among others:
price levels in different countries
prices of phone calls (local, long distance and international calls) and energy (electricity and gas) in different countries
structure of telecommunications market (5 indicators)
competition in public procurement
state subsidies
financial market integration between different countries (interests, foreign trade)
business investment
Structural indicators of innovation and research aim to describe how the EU is advancing towards the information, e.g.:
public expenditure on education
R&D expenditure: total and separately for public sector, industry and foreign funding
level of Internet access: households, business companies
numbers completing academic degrees, including gender breakdowns
patents in the EU and the US
venture capital investments, as proportion of GDP and growth
ICT expenditure
Structural indicators of social cohesion describe marginalisation and social problems, often for men and women separately, e.g.:
income differentials
poverty before and after income transfers
long-term poverty
regional differences in employment
early school-leavers
long-term unemployment
population in unemployed households
Indicators describing the state of the environmentreflect the spread of the principles of sustainable development in the EU, e.g.:
change in greenhouse gas emissions
energy intensity of the economy
energy taxes
transport volumes (freight, passengers), share of road transport
urban air quality, population exposure to air pollution
municipal waste and its management
share of renewable energy
protection of natural resources: ratio of fish catches to stocks, conservation areas as a proportion of total land area
Back to the topic
Telephone +358 9 17 341