Western Europe Tracker, H1 2020

The economic outlook for Western Europe is expected to stay muted in 2020. The US-China trade wars, global economic slowdown, and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit have softened external demand, affecting export-based economies such as Germany. While unemployment rates have been low and stable across most of Western Europe, job growth has plateaued and the slowdown of the manufacturing sector is expected to spill over to the service sector. Domestic demand has been the key GDP driver while net import growth has fallen across the region. Belgium and the Netherlands have had 2019’s GDP growth at the expected levels while export volumes were understandably low. Spain and Italy expect government spending through social transfers to buoy growth in 2020 compared to a muted 2019. Protests are expected to discourage private investment in France for 2020, unless the government chooses reconciliatory measures. Brexit’s uncertainty looms over the UK, discouraging private consumption, which is expected to retain its position as the key GDP growth driver in 2020.

Country Coverage: Western Europe
·     Belgium
·     France
·     Germany
·     Italy
·     Spain
·     The Netherlands
·     The United Kingdom

Sector Coverage: economic indicators, demographics, energy, manufacturing, food and beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, mining, electricity, construction, agriculture, healthcare, and information and communication technologies
Indicator coverage: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its components, GDP growth, export and import, foreign direct investment, inflation, business confidence, population and demographics, index of industrial production (IIP), value-add by industry, trade by industry, IIP by industry, production of important commodities, oil production and consumption, oil export and import, renewable energy, emissions, coal production and consumption, healthcare spending, Internet and mobile subscription, and regional GDP growth calculation.

Year, Quarter, and Month Coverage:
·     Yearly data: 2015–2024
·     Quarterly data: Q1 2015–Q1 2021 (select indicators)
·     Monthly data: January 2015–December 2019 (select indicators)

Author: Rituparna Majumder