Archive:Europe 2020 indicators - United Kingdom
- Data from December 2014. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables.
This article is part of a set of statistical articles based on the Eurostat publication Smarter, greener, more inclusive? - Indicators to support the Europe 2020 strategy. It provides recent statistics on the Europe 2020 strategy of the European Union (EU), focusing on the situation in United Kingdom.
Main statistical findings
The United Kingdom has not adopted specific national Europe 2020 targets apart from the already existing climate change and renewable energies commitments. After the deterioration in employment rates during the economic crisis (2008 to 2011), the indicator increased again to 74.9 % in 2013, exceeding the EU average of 68.4 %. In the period between 2008 and 2013, the UK managed to increase the tertiary educational attainment rate from 39.7 % to 47.6 %, against the backdrop of the adverse economic situation in the EU. The indicator on early school leavers recorded a 2.6 percentage point reduction over a three-year period, from 15.0 % in 2011 to 12.4 % in 2013. The development in the area of poverty has been more unfavourable, with the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion peaking at 15 586 in 2013. Following a period of volatility, R & D expenditure fell to 1.63 % of GDP in 2013, a value equivalent to 2005-levels. By 2012 the country had recorded a reduction of GHG emissions in non-ETS sectors of 8.6 %; further reductions of a similar magnitude would be required to meet the 16 % reduction target by 2020. With a gap of 10.8 percentage points in 2012, the UK was the farthest from its renewable energies target than the rest of the EU.
Data sources and availability
More information about the origin of the data and the calculation of indicators can be obtained via the Europe 2020 indicators dedicated website.
Under 'Tables', click on the icons next to the indicators:
- 'Explanatory texts (metadata)' for a detailed overview of the collection and compilation methods;
- 'Information on the leaf' for data availability per country.
A more general overview of quality procedures can be found in Implementation of standard reference metadata for indicators - the ESMS Indicator Profile (ESMS-IP) (PDF file).
See also
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Smarter, greener, more inclusive - indicators to support the Europe 2020 strategy (online publication, also downloadable as PDF file)
Main tables
Dedicated section
Methodology / Metadata
- Towards robust quality management for European Statistics - Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council COM(2011) 211 final.
Other information
- Regulation 223/2009 of 11 March 2009 on European statistics