Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union

E2: Environmental statistics and accounts; sustainable development

e-mail contact : ESTAT-SDG-MONITORING@ec.europa.eu

The indicator is part of the EU Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator set. It is used to monitor progress towards SDG 17 on revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development which is embedded in the European Commission’s Priorities under 'A stronger Europe in the world'.

SDG 17 calls for a global partnership for sustainable development. It highlights the importance of macroeconomic stability and of mobilising financial resources for developing countries. It also stresses the importance of trade and equitable rules for governing it. The goal also emphasises the importance of access to science and technology, in particular internet-based information and communications technology. 

The potential contribution of trade to sustainable development has long been acknowledged. The EU is leading the way towards a more equal global partnership with developing countries by taking a responsible approach to trade and investment policy, for instance through the ‘Trade for All’ strategy (2015) which aims to help developing countries participate more fully in the global market. Furthermore, the EU facilitates imports from developing countries by granting tariff reductions under its Generalised Scheme of Preferences and by providing ‘Aid for Trade’ targeted at supporting trade-related infrastructure, trade-related assistance and private sector development. Finally, the Cotonou Agreement regulates the EU’s relationship with 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP), focusing on development cooperation, political cooperation as well as economic and trade cooperation.

The EU updated its Aid for Trade Strategy in 2017, to reflect the significant political changes both globally — in particular, the 2030 Agenda — and at the EU level, including the new European Consensus on Development and Trade for All. The updated strategy aims to enhance the coherence of aid for trade with other EU policies and instruments, including EU trade agreements and unilateral preference schemes. The focus on LDCs constitutes a key part of the updated strategy. In 2021, the EU conducted a review of its trade strategy, with a view to reflecting its new, more sustainable growth model as well as the SDGs.

The indicator is defined as the value (at current prices) of EU imports from developing countries.

In this context, developing countries are defined as the countries on the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) list of official development assistance beneficiaries. The indicator is presented broken down by income groups of partner countries, as distinguished by the DAC list. Please note that these groups are not static over time, as countries can change groups. Please refer to the DAC lists linked in section “Annexes”.

million EUR (current prices)

Calendar year

The indicator is produced according to the high-level quality standards of European Statistics.

ESS

Data source: European Statistical System (ESS)

Data provider: Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, based on data reported by the countries.

The Member States collect, compile and transmit international trade in goods statistics to Eurostat in line with the legislation in force. The information providers are generally enterprises with a trade volume above the threshold. Extra-EU trade statistics are collected on the basis of Customs declaration. In addition to the data collected from Customs declarations, Member States compile and provide Eurostat with adjustments in order to compensate the impact of the trade not collected due to the threshold system.

Every year

The indicator is updated annually. Complete and updated ESS data release information can be accessed via Eurostat release calendar.

T+1 year

New data points are disseminated within one year after the reference year.

All EU MS

Data are presented for all EU Member States.

All EU MS

Data are comparable between all EU Member States.

> 10 years

Presented time series (including EU aggregates) starts in 2000.

> 4 data points

Length of comparable time series without methodological break is longer than 4 data points.

Analysis of indicator is presented in Eurostat's annual monitoring report on Sustainable development in the EU (progress towards SDGs in the EU context).

See table sdg_17_30

Eurostat dedicated section on SDGs: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/sdi/overview

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