STAT/11/55
14 April 2011
Culturein the EU27
Cultural statistics in the spotlight
Culture plays a significant role in the daily life of European citizens, andstatistics can help to illustrate cultural behaviourin the EU as well as cross-cultural contacts. How many students in the EU study arts? How many writers and artists are there in the EU? Has the price of cultural goods and services increased more than the average over recent years? What percentage of the population in the EU read a book or a newspaper in a foreign language?
Answers to these questions on culture and to many more can be found in the publication Cultural statistics1, released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The publication includes chapters on cultural employment, enterprises and external trade, cultural expenditure and participation as well as a chapter on cultural sites and museums.
Highest shares of art students in the United Kingdom and Ireland
The place of culture in European society can be seen from different angles, such as the number of people working as writers or artists, the percentage of tertiary students studying arts or the size of external trade in cultural goods.
In 2009, in the EU27, 1.5 million people worked as writers or artists,equivalent to 0.7% of total employment. The highest numbers were recorded in Germany (330 000), the United Kingdom (200 000), France (180 000), Italy (120 000), the Netherlands (110 000) and Spain (100 000). Among the Member States, the share of writers or artists in total employment varied from 0.1% in Romania to 1.5% in Finland and Sweden.
During the academic year 2007/2008, 725 000 students, or 3.8% of all tertiary students in the EU27, studied arts. The United Kingdom(6.8%), Ireland (6.6%), Finland(5.6%) and Cyprus (5.5%) recorded the highest shares of tertiary students in arts.
Cultural goods account for a larger share of EU exports than imports. In 2010, 0.6% of EU27exports of goods and 0.4% of EU27 imports with the rest of the world were cultural goods. The United Kingdom(1.8%), Estonia (0.7%), France, Cyprus, Latvia and Austria (all 0.6%) had the highest shares of cultural goods in their total exports, and Austria (0.9%), Irelandand the United Kingdom(both 0.8%),Greece and Cyprus (both 0.7%) the largest shares in total imports.
Prices for books increasedless than the average in the last five years
As regards the prices of cultural goods and services (museums, concerts etc.) in the EU27, prices fornewspapers (+17.5%) and cultural services (+13.3%) increased more than the overall index (+11.9%) between 2005 and 2010, while prices for books (+6.5%) rose less.
Selection of indicators from the cultural sector
Writers and creative artists*, 2009 / Tertiary students studying arts**, as % of all students, 2007/2008 / Trade in cultural goods***, % of total external trade, 2010 / Harmonised indices of consumer prices, 2010 (2005=100)In thousands / % of total employment / Exports / Imports / Total / Cultural services**** / Books / Newspapers
EU27 / 1 482 / 0.7 / 3.8 / 0.6 / 0.4 / 111.9 / 113.3 / 106.5 / 117.5
Belgium / 26 / 0.6 / 5.1 / 0.2 / 0.3 / 111.4 / 114.7 / 111.3 / 116.2
Bulgaria / 18 / 0.6 / 2.4 / 0.1 / 0.1 / 136.6 / 139.3 / 133.4 / 111.7
Czech Republic / 36 / 0.7 / 1.9 / 0.5 / 0.4 / 113.7 / 127.6 / 112.3 / 121.7
Denmark / 25 / 0.9 / 3.6 / 0.3 / 0.5 / 110.8 / 120.0 / 108.7 / 124.1
Germany / 328 / 0.8 / 3.6 / 0.5 / 0.3 / 108.4 / 107.8 / 100.7 / 117.4
Estonia / 3 / 0.5 / 5.1 / 0.7 / 0.2 / 127.0 / 139.7 / 119.2 / 139.9
Ireland / 17 / 0.9 / 6.6 / 0.2 / 0.8 / 105.4 / 112.5 / 103.9 / 119.9
Greece / 23 / 0.5 / 2.1 / 0.5 / 0.7 / 117.7 / 117.9 / 111.6 / 114.9
Spain / 102 / 0.5 / 4.7 / 0.4 / 0.2 / 112.9 / 113.8 / 110.8 / 111.4
France / 180 / 0.7 / 4.2 / 0.6 / 0.5 / 108.8 / 109.4 / 105.1 / 113.7
Italy / 119 / 0.5 / 4.0 / 0.3 / 0.2 / 110.6 / 109.2 / 107.0 / 113.7
Cyprus / 2 / 0.4 / 5.5 / 0.6 / 0.7 / 112.0 / 112.1 / 96.2 / 136.3
Latvia / 7 / 0.7 / 3.3 / 0.6 / 0.2 / 137.9 / 172.3 / 143.2 / 153.1
Lithuania / 7(u) / 0.5 / 3.2 / 0.3 / 0.1 / 128.6 / 139.0 / 120.5 / 110.4
Luxembourg / 2 / 0.7 / : / 0.1 / 0.5 / 113.1 / 111.5 / 101.2 / 121.8
Hungary / 24 / 0.6 / 1.7 / 0.1 / 0.1 / 129.7 / 130.5 / 131.1 / 130.2
Malta / (u) / : / 2.8 / 0.3 / 0.4 / 112.4 / 92.5 / 92.2 / 120.1
Netherlands / 108 / 1.3 / 4.4 / 0.2 / 0.2 / 107.6 / 116.9 / 80.9 / 120.2
Austria / 37 / 0.9 / 5.2 / 0.6 / 0.9 / 109.5 / 112.3 / 100.6 / 119.8
Poland / 69 / 0.4 / 1.1 / 0.4 / 0.2 / 115.6 / 106.0 / 113.9 / 98.1
Portugal / 21 / 0.4 / 5.2 / 0.2 / 0.4 / 108.9 / 111.5 / 114.4 / 115.5
Romania / 13 / 0.1 / 1.2 / 0.1 / 0.2 / 135.2 / 114.7 / 119.3 / 180.4
Slovenia / 6 / 0.6 / 1.9 / 0.3 / 0.2 / 115.6 / 115.8 / 104.3 / 127.8
Slovakia / 12 / 0.5 / 1.7 / 0.3 / 0.2 / 112.2 / 111.4 / 120.3 / 120.4
Finland / 36 / 1.5 / 5.6 / 0.2 / 0.4 / 110.5 / 119.7 / 103.9 / 119.2
Sweden / 68 / 1.5 / 4.4 / 0.4 / 0.4 / 110.8 / 108.0 / 110.0 / 121.6
United Kingdom / 196 / 0.7 / 6.8 / 1.8 / 0.8 / 114.5 / 119.9 / 115.7 / 123.7
Iceland / 3 / 1.9 / 2.9 / : / : / 152.8 / 127.6 / 121.9 / 152.3
Norway / 35 / 1.4 / 3.0 / : / : / 111.8 / 128.3 / 88.6 / 125.2
Switzerland / 37 / 0.9 / 4.3 / : / : / 104.1 / 105.5 / 95.6 / 111.3
Croatia / 8(u) / 0.5 / 2.6 / : / : / 115.9 / 117.6 / 115.2 / 108.0
Former Yug. Rep. of Macedonia / 2 / 0.3 / 1.8 / : / : / : / : / : / :
Turkey / 37 / 0.2 / 1.4 / : / : / 151.4 / 129.3 / 197.4 / 179.2
*Includes writers and creative or performing artists (authors, journalists, sculptors, painters, composers, musicians, singers, choreographers, dancers, actors, directors and other related artists).
**Includes fine arts, music and performing arts, audio-visual techniques and media production, design, craft skills
***Includes books, newspapers, CDs, DVDs, musical instruments and works of art, but does not cover licenses or copyrights. EU27 excludes intra EU trade.
****Includes cinemas, theatres, concerts, museums, zoological gardens and the like, television and radio taxes and hire of equipment
: Data not available
uData not published or published with reduced reliability due to sample size
Highest levels of cross-cultural contactsin Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Malta and the Netherlands
Cross-cultural contacts were examined in a Eurobarometerpublic opinion survey2. This report shows that in the EU27 in 2007, 27% of persons aged 15 years and overhad travelled abroad at least three times in the past three years,22% had family members living in another European country and 15% in a non European country, 19% often watched television or movies in foreign languages, 9% read foreign-language newspapers and 7% readforeign books in their original language. On the other hand, a quarter (27%) of the respondents said they had none of the cross-cultural contacts mentioned in the survey.
The proportion of cross-cultural contacts varied considerably among Member States, with Luxembourg on top for watching television or movies (80%), reading books (49%) and newspapers (71%) in a foreign language. Apart from Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, Malta and the Netherlands registered the lowest percentage of respondents stating that they had none of the cross-cultural contacts mentioned.
Cross-cultural contacts, 2007
% of respondents answering the question: which, if any of the following statements would apply to you?
You have travelled abroad at least 3 times in the past 3 years, for leisure or business / A member of your family or a relative lives in another European country / You often watch TV programs or movies in foreign languages / A member of your family or a relative lives in another non European country / You sometimes read newspapers in foreign languages / You enjoy reading foreign books in their original language / None* of the statements mentioned applyEU27 / 27 / 22 / 19 / 15 / 9 / 7 / 27
Belgium / 44 / 30 / 38 / 19 / 16 / 11 / 12
Bulgaria / 5 / 18 / 15 / 7 / 3 / 1 / 47
Czech Rep. / 29 / 21 / 14 / 6 / 5 / 3 / 31
Denmark / 56 / 31 / 74 / 22 / 21 / 29 / 5
Germany / 34 / 22 / 14 / 12 / 14 / 9 / 21
Estonia / 38 / 31 / 55 / 20 / 20 / 12 / -
Ireland / 26 / 41 / 8 / 23 / 3 / 2 / 23
Greece / 12 / 22 / 11 / 17 / 7 / 5 / 40
Spain / 12 / 18 / 9 / 14 / 5 / 3 / 38
France / 32 / 19 / 20 / 15 / 13 / 7 / 18
Italy / 12 / 12 / 3 / 11 / 3 / 2 / 51
Cyprus / 42 / 59 / 59 / 33 / 12 / 7 / 7
Latvia / 18 / 32 / 34 / 17 / 16 / 15 / 19
Lithuania / 15 / 36 / 28 / 14 / 13 / 11 / 30
Luxembourg / 63 / 57 / 80 / 20 / 71 / 49 / 2
Hungary / 22 / 17 / 12 / 10 / 8 / 3 / 43
Malta / 24 / 37 / 72 / 50 / 56 / 32 / 5
Netherlands / 65 / 22 / 65 / 22 / 18 / 22 / 5
Austria / 34 / 25 / 6 / 13 / 6 / 7 / 20
Poland / 16 / 31 / 14 / 9 / 6 / 2 / 33
Portugal / 8 / 35 / 24 / 13 / 5 / 5 / 36
Romania / 8 / 32 / 19 / 7 / 5 / 5 / 40
Slovenia / 44 / 28 / 48 / 19 / 23 / 10 / 14
Slovakia / 25 / 29 / 20 / 9 / 11 / 6 / 26
Finland / 41 / 28 / 59 / 14 / 21 / 17 / 9
Sweden / 51 / 29 / 73 / 19 / 22 / 26 / 3
United Kingdom / 39 / 23 / 18 / 29 / 6 / 4 / 12
*Also includes the following statements: "You enjoy eating foreign cuisine","You have friends who are from other European and non- European countries", "You often communicate with people in other countries via the Internet or email", "Your job involves contact with organisations or people in other countries".
Multiple answers possible. Respondents aged 15 years and over.
- Not applicable
Source: Eurobarometer 67.1, 2007
- Eurostat Pocketbook"Cultural statistics",PDF version available free of charge from Eurostat website.Data presented in this News Release could differ from the data published in the pocketbook, due to updates made after the data extractions used for the publication.
- European Commission - Special Eurobarometer 278, wave EB67.1: "European Cultural Values". Available from:
Louise CORSELLI-NORDBLAD
Tel: +352-4301-33 444
/ For further information on data:
Marta BECK-DOMZALSKA
Tel:+352-4301-33 123