The domestic material consumption of the EU economy stood at around 13.4 tonnes per person in 2020, down compared with 2019 (14.1 tonnes per person).
Non-metallic minerals account for half of the domestic material consumption (52%) in 2020, biomass for almost a quarter (24%), fossil energy materials for close to a fifth (18%) and metal ores for 5%.
This information comes from data on material flows and resource productivity recently published by Eurostat. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained articles on material flow accounts and resource productivity, resource productivity statistics and physical imports and exports.
An analysis of domestic material consumption by material category conveys the relative importance of various materials and their potential for reuse, recovery or recycling. Over time, the consumption patterns of these material categories has evolved differently.
Source dataset: env_ac_mfa
Since the start of the millennium, domestic material consumption decreased from more than 15.4 tonnes per person to around 13.4 tonnes per person in 2020.
The consumption of biomass remained fairly stable during this period, unlike the consumption of metal ores and non-metallic minerals, which were both highly influenced by the financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009, while the impact of the COVID-19 crisis was moderate.
By 2020, the consumption of biomass, metal ores as well as non-metallic minerals stood at around the level of 20 years ago. In contrast, the consumption of fossil energy materials gradually decreased over the past two decades, mirroring reduced CO2-emissions, with a significant drop in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Differences in material consumption across the EU
The level of domestic material consumption differs significantly across the EU Member States: from 7 tonnes per person in Italy to 31 tonnes per person in Finland in 2020. Domestic material consumption in each country is influenced by natural endowments with material resources, which may form an important structural element of each economy.
Source dataset: env_ac_mfa
Furthermore, consumption of the main material categories also varies across EU Member States. In 2020, consumption of non-metallic minerals ranged from 2 tonnes per person in the Netherlands to 23 tonnes per person in Romania. Cross-country differences can be a result of varied levels of construction activity (investments), population density and size of transport infrastructure such as road networks.
Biomass consumption also varies greatly across the EU: from a tonne per person in Malta to 8 tonnes per person in Ireland and Denmark. Economies with high biomass consumption are often specialised in timber production (Finland) or certain livestock production (Ireland, Denmark).
Consumption of fossil energy material stood at around 3 tonnes per person at EU level and differences across countries were less marked.
For more information:
- Eurostat Statistics Explained articles on material flow accounts and resource productivity, resource productivity statistics and physical imports and exports
- Eurostat What’s new article on resource productivity
- Eurostat website section dedicated to material flows and resource productivity
- Eurostat metadata on material flow accounts
- Energy Union and Climate priority of the European Commission
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