Culture plays a significant role in the daily life of European citizens. With nearly 300 cultural sites out of almost 700 on the UNESCO list, the 27 Member States of the European Union possess a significant cultural heritage. The importance of culture today is shown by the fact that cultural employment¹ accounted for almost five million people, 2.4% of total employment in the EU27 in 2005.

For the first time, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union, has gathered the main available culture statistics comparable at a European level in a single publication - Cultural statistics. The publication includes chapters on cultural employment, enterprises and external trade as well as cultural expenditure and participation.

The following examples illustrate the great diversity of data covered in this publication.

Characteristics of cultural employment

In 2005, in the EU27, cultural employment was estimated at 4.9 million people and accounted for 2.4% of total employment, covering both employment in cultural occupations in the whole economy and any employment in cultural economic activities. The proportion of cultural employment ranged from 1.1% in Romania, 1.4% in Portugal and 1.7% in Poland to 3.8% in the Netherlands, 3.5% in Sweden and 3.3% in Finland.

People working within the cultural field generally have a higher level of education than those employed in the economy as a whole. Nearly half of cultural workers in the EU27 in 2005 had completed the tertiary level of education, i.e. university studies or similar, compared to a quarter of the work force in general. This was true for all the Member States. The highest proportions of cultural workers with tertiary education were found in Estonia (64%) and Belgium (63%), while the lowest were found in Malta (26%) and Portugal (28%).

Cultural employment seems less secure: 16% of cultural workers in the EU27 had temporary jobs compared to 13% for total employment. The shares of temporary jobs in cultural employment were highest in Spain (30%) and Slovenia (27%), while they were lowest in Bulgaria, Ireland and Romania (all 3%).

In the EU27 29% of cultural workers were non-employees i.e. employers or self-employed, compared with 14% in the total work force. In all Member States except Lithuania, Malta and Slovenia the share of non-employees was higher for cultural workers than in the economy as a whole. The highest ratios of non-employees were found in Italy (53%), Greece and the Netherlands (both 35%), while the lowest were found in Lithuania (4%), Estonia and Slovenia (both 7%).

Cultural employment, 2005

* Tertiary education. ISCED level 5-6.
** Employers, self-employed and family workers
: Data not available

Highest proportion of arts students in Malta

During the academic year 2004-2005, 3.9% of all tertiary students in the EU27 followed a course in arts. The highest proportions of arts students were found in Malta (10.9%), Ireland (10.2%) and the United Kingdom (6.5%), and the lowest in Poland (1.0%), Hungary (1.3%) and Romania (1.4%).

Publishing sector and external trade in arts and antiques most significant in the United Kingdom

In 2004, the publishing sector in the EU27 was made up of 55 000 enterprises, employing nearly 750 000 people, and accounting for 2.7% of the total value added in manufacturing. The highest share of value added was recorded in the United Kingdom (5.5% of total manufacturing), followed by the Netherlands (4.5%) and Latvia (4.1%). The lowest shares were registered in Romania (1.1%), the Czech Republic, Ireland and Slovakia (all 1.2%).

In 2006, EU27 exports of works of art, collectors' pieces and antiques were worth 4.7 billion euro, and imports 3.0 bn, resulting in a surplus of 1.7 bn. The United Kingdom (3.2 bn) was by far the largest exporter, followed by France (0.9 bn) and Austria (0.3 bn). The United Kingdom was also the biggest importer (1.9 bn), followed by Spain (0.4 bn) and France (0.3 bn).

Irish go to the cinema most often

EU27 citizens went to the cinema more than 900 million times in 2006. The Irish were the most frequent cinema-goers, with an average of 4.2 admissions per person, compared to the EU27 average of 1.9. Other frequent cinema-goers were the French (3.0), the Spanish (2.8) and the Luxembourgish (2.7). The least frequent cinema-goers were the Romanians (0.1), the Bulgarians (0.3) and the Slovakians (0.6).

Selection of indicators from the cultural sector

* Tertiary students: ISCED level 5-6. Arts: Fine arts, Music and performing arts, Audio-visual techniques and media production, Design, Craft skills. EU27 is based on the available data.
** 'Publishing' means 'Publishing of books, newspapers, journals and periodicals'. EU27 aggregates for the publishing sector are estimated.
*** EU27 figure includes only extra EU27 trade. Member States' figures include both extra- and intra-EU27 trade. Includes Paintings; Original engravings, prints and lithographs; Original sculptures; Stamps; Collectors' pieces of zoological, botanical, mineralogical, anatomical, historical, archaeological, palaeontological, ethnographic or numismatic interest as well as Antiques of an age exceeding 100 years.
**** Source: Media Salles. DE: Including municipal cinemas. IT: Based on Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori data referring to screens with more than 60 days of activity per year. NL: Not including data for some small distributors.
: Data not available.

Enjoying culture on TV or radio is the most common cultural activity in the EU27

More than three quarters of the population in the EU27 had watched or listened to a cultural programme on TV or radio in the preceding 12 months, according to a Special Eurobarometer³ carried out early in 2007. 71% had read at least one book in the last 12 months. The use of most other cultural facilities was limited to a minority of EU27 citizens, except for visiting historical monuments and going to the cinema which attracted 54% and 51% of the population respectively. Museums and galleries (41%), concerts (37%), public libraries (35%) and the theatre (32%) attracted between 30% and 40% of the population, while just under 20% of EU27 citizens went to ballet and opera (18%).

EU27 citizens' participation in cultural activities, 2007

Source: European Commission - Special Eurobarometer 278.

1. Cultural employment covers both cultural occupations in the whole economy and any employment in cultural sectors of the economy (cultural economic activities). Cultural occupations are professional activities with a cultural dimension, such as librarians, writers, performing artists, architects, etc. The occupation is defined as a subset of the ISCO classification. All these occupations are taken into account, whatever the main activity of the employer. Cultural activities are defined as a subset of the NACE (statistical Classification of Economic Activities) classification, and include e.g. publishing, motion picture and video activity, wholesale and retail of cultural goods. In these activities, all employment is taken into account, whatever the occupation (artistic, technical, administrative, managerial), because they are all required for the operation of the “cultural industry”.