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STAT/02/20
7 February 2002
Third release for the third quarter of 2001
Euro-zone GDP up by 0.1%,
EU15 GDP up by 0.2%
+1.4% compared to the third quarter of 2000 for both zones
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.1% in the euro-zone1 and by 0.2% in the EU15 during the third quarter
of 2001, according to revised estimates2 out today from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European
Communities in Luxembourg. Economic growth had reached 0.1% for both zones during the second quarter.
In comparison with the third quarter of 2000, the euro-zone and the EU15 GDP grew both by 1.4%, after an
increase of 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively, in the previous quarter.
The US economy recorded a drop in GDP (-0.3%) during the third quarter of 2001, after an increase of 0.1% in the
second quarter. In Japan, the economy recorded another drop in GDP in the third quarter of 2001 (-0.5% during
the third quarter after -1.2% in the previous quarter). Compared to the third quarter of 2000, the GDP in the United
States rose by 0.5% and dropped by 0.5% in Japan.
The figures for the euro-zone and the EU15 come from Eurostat's third quarterly estimation of National Accounts
aggregates. Up to now, this third release was only published on Eurostat's web site.3 From now on, there will also
be a regular news release on this occasion. In addition, Eurostat will publish in this news release the quarterly
data derived from the income approach4. These new figures show, on a quarterly level, how the results from
economic activity are distributed and they add Gross National Income (equivalent to the formerly widely used
Gross National Product GNP) and Gross National Disposable Income to the list of main aggregates supplied, thus
enhancing further the possibilities for economic analysis for the euro-zone and the EU15. With this extension of
National Accounts coverage, Eurostat covers all three approaches to Gross Domestic Product (expenditure,
output, income).
Slowdown of household consumption, drop in foreign trade
In the third quarter of 2001, household final consumption expenditure, even if slowing down, sustained GDP
growth. Private consumption expenditure grew by 0.1% in the euro-zone and by 0.3% in the EU15, after an
increase of 0.6% in both zones in the previous quarter. Investments stagnated in the euro-zone (0.0%) and
dropped by 0.3% in the EU15 during the third quarter of 2001, following a fall of 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively,
during the second quarter. Exports continued to drop: -0.6% in the euro-zone and -1.0% in the EU15 (following
-0.6% and -0.9% during the second quarter). Imports recorded a strong decrease both in the euro-zone (-1.4%
compared to -0.3% in the previous quarter) and in the EU15 (-1.7% compared to -0.6%).
Compensation of employees growing steadily, Operating surplus down
Regarding the breakdown of GDP at current prices into income aggregates, Compensation of employees
increased by 0.8% during the third quarter of 2001 in the euro-zone and by 0.7% in the EU15, after +1.1% and
+1.8% in the second quarter. Gross operating surplus and mixed income was actually down by 0.6% in the eurozone and by 0.4% in the EU15, after -0.5% and +0.5%, in the previous quarter.
During the third quarter 2001, Compensation of employees was growing fastest in Spain (+1.5%), in Belgium and
in the Netherlands (+1.2% for both), while the lowest increases were recorded in Germany and the United
Kingdom (+0.2% for both). Gross operating surplus and mixed income saw the steepest rise in Denmark
(+3.0%), while the lowest fall was observed in Finland (-10.1%).
Tables only available in PDF and Word format
1.
Euro-zone: Belgium, Germany, Greece (from the first quarter 2001 onwards), Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland.
2.
The euro-zone and EU15 growth rates published today have been revised compared to the news release No. 6/2002
issued on January 10, 2002. The previous publication was based on a more limited data set than the one used for the
present news release and, additionally, on first estimates for some Member States, which have now been revised. The
extent of these revisions is, nevertheless, quite small e.g.: GDP growth rates compared to the previous quarter for the
euro-zone and the EU15 recorded a revision of +0.02 percentage points for the euro-zone and +0.03 for the EU15. Due
to rounding, the published growth rates remained unchanged, though.
Estimates for the Euro-zone and EU15 are calculated in a coherent statistical framework, using annual data of all
Member States and as indicators the available data of those Member States compiling quarterly accounts. Estimates for
the euro-zone and EU15 are obtained by using data from Member States. These data are seasonally adjusted according
to national adjustment procedures. They are also corrected for working days for Belgium, Germany (not for the income
side), Spain, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
3.
Eurostat publishes a first estimate of EU15 and euro-zone quarterly figures (GDP, expenditure components, output
breakdown) in a press release 70 days after the end of the quarter. The second estimate (at 100 days) is also published
in a press release and includes the details for Member States. The third estimate (at 120 days) was only published on
Eurostat's web site so far.
4.
A methodological description of the income approach and of the new variables is presented in the annex. A Statistics in
focus on "Quarterly Accounts - Income Side - Third Quarter 2001" will be published soon.
Issued by:
Eurostat Press Office
Philippe BAUTIER,
Louise CORSELLI-NORDBLAD
Joseph Bech Building
L-2920 LUXEMBOURG
Tel:
Fax:
+352-4301 33 444
+352 4301 34 216
+352-4301 35349
[email protected]
For further information on data:
Roberto BARCELLAN
Ingo KUHNERT
Tel.:
Fax:
+352-4301-35 802
+352-4301-35 234
+352-4301-33 879
[email protected]
[email protected]
Eurostat news releases on the Internet:
www.europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat
Tables available only in PDF and Word format
Annex
Extension of Euro-indicators: Eurostat will regularly issue quarterly income
data from National Accounts
Eurostat will from now on supplement its quarterly National Accounts data by figures derived from the income
approach. These data will regularly complement the figures from the expenditure and output sides that have been
published so far.1 With this extension of National Accounts coverage, Eurostat covers all three approaches to
Gross Domestic Product (expenditure, output, income), and adds Gross National Income and Gross National
Disposable Income to the list of main aggregates supplied, thus enhancing further the possibilities for economic
analysis for both the euro-zone and the EU15.
Definition of income side representation of GDP
The income side approach shows Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as it is distributed among different participants
in the production process. For the time being, GDP will be broken down according to:
Gross domestic product = compensation of employees + gross operating surplus and mixed income + taxes
less subsidies on production and imports
Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an
employer to an employee in return for work done. This includes social contributions.
Operating surplus is the surplus (or deficit) on production activities before account has been taken of the
interest, rents or charges paid or received for the use of assets. Mixed income is the remuneration for the
work carried out by the owner or members of his family of an unincorporated enterprise. This is referred to
as 'mixed income' since it cannot be distinguished from the entrepreneurial profit of the owner.
Taxes less subsidies on production and imports consist of compulsory unrequited payments, to or by
general government or institutions of the European Union, in respect of the production or importation of
goods and services, the employment of labour, the ownership or use of land, buildings or other assets
used in production.
To account for income flows that connect the European economies with the rest of the world, figures for the
following two equations will be supplied:
Gross national income (GNI) = GDP + (primary incomes receivable from the rest of the world – primary incomes
payable to the rest of the world)
Gross national disposable income (GNDI) = gross national income + (current transfers receivable from the rest
of the world – current transfers payable to the rest of the world)
Gross national income represents total primary income receivable by resident institutional units, no
matter where it is earned. It is conceptually identical with Gross national product (GNP), which was
formerly widely used for assessing the economy.
Primary income is income received by virtue of a direct participation in the production process, and
income receivable by the owner of an asset in return for putting the asset at the disposal of another
institutional unit. If a foreign residential unit generates a primary income in the national economy's
production process, from that economy's viewpoint this income will be payable to the rest of the world. If,
on the other hand, a national residential unit engages in another national economy, it will generate primary
income receivable from the rest of the world.
Current transfers contain current taxes on income, wealth, etc., social contributions and benefits and
other current transfers (e.g. non-life insurance premiums and claims, international co-operation transfers,
transfers between households, fines and penalties, lotteries and gambling etc.) between residential and
non-residential units. They are distinguished from primary incomes in that they don't relate directly to
production processes, but rather are of re-distributive nature.
The two types of flows with the rest of the world will be given net only. This is due to the fact that Member State
source data do not necessarily distinguish whether a transaction is with another European Union Member State or
with third countries. Additional information will therefore be required to do the consolidation needed to calculate the
absolute figure of, say, primary incomes received by the euro-zone. The balances on the other hand need no
consolidation since a net flow to another Member State will automatically be countered by the net flow of the
recipient, which will not be the case for flows to the rest of the world.
To allow the calculation of Net instead of Gross aggregates, figures will also be provided for overall Consumption
of fixed capital. This represents the amount of fixed assets used up as a result of normal wear and tear and
foreseeable obsolescence, including a provision for losses as a result of accidental damage. Exceptional
catastrophic losses are not included in this figure.
Total final consumption expenditure will be carried over from the expenditure side representation of GDP. This
is the sum of household final consumption expenditure (including that of non-profit organisations serving
households) and government final consumption expenditure. Subtracting this from Net national disposable income
will result in Net saving. Net saving measures the portion of national disposable income that is not used on
consumption and may therefore be used for capital transfers or investment.
It should be noted that the income aggregates are, in general, available in current prices only, while expenditure
and output data are often given in constant prices, too. In fact, the income aggregates are hardly ever expressed
in constant prices since it is difficult to define a volume component of income.
To give an indication of the relative importance of the income and transfer types, table 1 below shows the annual
values of the income side aggregates with respect to GDP for the Euro-zone and the EU15 for 2000.
Estimation and balancing
This representation of GDP is a supplement to the expenditure and output approaches. The results of the three
approaches are coherent (balanced), so a single value for GDP is obtained.
Annual figures for the euro-zone and the EU15 are, in general, derived from adding up the respective Member
States data, but where not all of these are available, some additional estimations are required for the presentation
of annual data. Quarterly income data for the euro-zone and the EU15 are derived from all countries for which
these data are available quarterly. Since not all Member States collect quarterly income data, the following
procedure is used to produce quarterly estimates for the euro-zone and the EU15:

In a first step, all the available quarterly data from Member States are summed up in order to calculate
indicators to be used for the estimation of the values of the euro-zone and the EU15. Some data at least for
the large Member States (Germany, France and Italy, and in addition the United Kingdom for the EU15) are
necessary in order to give a reliable indicator. These indicators are then used to produce a preliminary
estimate in a statistical framework that links available quarterly and annual information to derive quarterly
values for the target euro-zone and EU15 aggregates.
According to this procedure the quarterly movement of the estimated aggregates is led by the quarterly
indicators and reflects the movement and weights of the available Member States.
Since income data often take longer to compile, enough data for a reliable estimate are, for the time being,
available only at the time of the third Eurostat estimation of GDP. At that point, data for Belgium, Denmark,
Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland and the United Kingdom are
usually available. Table 2 indicates the relative weights of the Member States contribution to the euro-zone
and the EU15 GNI and GNDI for 2000.

In a second step, the preliminary estimates are balanced to ensure that the accounting constraints are obeyed.
Table 1: Relative value of income aggregates, GDP = 100, 2000,
in current prices
EU15
Euro-zone
Compensation of employees
49.5
50.9
Gross operating surplus and mixed income
38.2
36.5
Taxes less subsidies on production and imports
12.3
12.6
100.0
100.0
Net primary income flow with the rest of the world
-0.4
-0.6
Gross national income
99.6
99.4
Consumption of fixed capital
14.2
13.6
Net national income
85.4
85.8
Net current transfer flow with the rest of the world
-0.5
-0.6
National disposable income
84.9
85.2
7.9
7.2
Gross domestic product
Net saving
Table 2: Countries' weights in Gross national Income (GNI) and Net National Disposable
Income (Net NDI), 2000, in current prices
Share of eurozone GNI
Belgium
3.9%
Denmark
Germany
3.0%
Share of eurozone Net NDI
3.8%
2.0%
Share of EU15
Net NDI
2.9%
1.9%
30.9%
23.7%
30.5%
23.3%
Greece
1.9%
1.5%
2.1%
1.6%
Spain
9.2%
7.1%
9.3%
7.1%
France
21.7%
16.7%
21.7%
16.6%
Ireland
1.3%
1.0%
1.4%
1.1%
Italy
17.7%
13.6%
18.0%
13.8%
Luxembourg
0.3%
0.2%
0.3%
0.2%
Netherlands
6.2%
4.8%
6.1%
4.7%
Austria
3.1%
2.4%
3.1%
2.4%
Portugal
1.7%
1.3%
1.8%
1.4%
Finland
2.0%
1.5%
1.9%
1.5%
Sweden
United Kingdom
1.
Share of EU15
GNI
2.9%
2.8%
18.3%
18.9%
At the moment, only the third release of National Accounts data each quarter which is scheduled 120 days after the end
of the quarter will contain Income data. A 'Statistics in Focus' is to be published on each of the three approaches on this
occasion. For the two first estimates (at 70 and 100 days, respectively) the data available is considered to be still too
limited to allow the inclusion of income aggregates. Providing income aggregates on the occasion of the second estimate
(at 100 days) is aimed at for the near future.