Getting to know the blue economy through open data
Publication Date/Time
2024-08-02T09:00:00+00:00
Open datasets provide insights into the importance of maritime affairs
and fisheries and for the European Union
The blue economy has been defined by the World Bank
[https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2017/06/06/blue-economy]
as the ‘sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth,
improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean
ecosystem.’ The blue economy of the European Union (EU) encompasses
every industry and sector linked to oceans, seas and coasts, whether
they operate directly within the marine environment or on land. The
established sectors include marine living resources (such as fishing
and aquaculture), marine non-living resources (mining), marine
renewable energy, port activities (such as cargo and passenger
services), shipbuilding and repair, maritime transport and coastal
tourism. Given that the EU, including its outlying regions, claims the
world’s largest maritime territory, the blue economy holds
significant importance for the overall EU economy. However, the
relevance of the domain varies significantly across Member States,
with bigger coastal nations naturally holding a more substantial
stake. 

This data story uses open data to underscore the importance of the
blue economy and to paint a comprehensive picture of the socioeconomic
size of the EU’s maritime affairs. The analysis first provides an
overview of the size of the blue economy; it then focuses more
specifically on one of the most important sectors, coastal tourism;
finally, it highlights the growing importance of the renewable
offshore wind energy sector. 

 

AN OVERVIEW OF THE SIZE OF THE EU BLUE ECONOMY

Open data on employment provides interesting insights into the
collective size of the blue economy and the importance it has in
different EU Member States. Figure 1 illustrates the number of
employees in the blue economy both in absolute terms and as
percentages of each country’s workforce in 2021. In that year, the
blue economy’s workforce in the EU amounted to nearly 3.6 million
employees or 1.7 % of the total EU workforce. As highlighted in the
_EU Blue Economy Report 2024_
[https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ef90077b-1e82-11ef-a251-01aa75ed71a1],
this marked a significant increase of 17 % with respect to 2020. The
blue economy, in fact, had been profoundly impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic and saw a decrease from 4.4 million employees in 2019 to
3.1 million in 2020, but it began to recover by 2021. 

In absolute terms, some of the EU’s largest countries by population
lead the ranking, with Greece being an exception due to its smaller
population size. Spain is at the forefront, counting over 625 000
employees, followed by Germany, Greece, France and Italy, each
employing between 400 000 and 500 000 workers. However, when
considering the proportion of domestic employment in 2021, the picture
changes. Greece leads with 9.5 % of its workforce employed in the
blue economy, followed by Cyprus and Croatia with around 8 %, and
Malta and Estonia with 7.1 % and 3.3 %, respectively. The
significant share of domestic employment in Greece aligns with its
third-place position in absolute employment figures, distinguishing
Greece as the sole country featured in the top three across both
rankings. Check out how many employees work in the blue economy in
your country on the interactive dashboard
[https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/depth-analytical-tool_en]! 
[https://data.europa.eu/sites/default/files/img/media/20240719_Blue%20Economy_Size.png]
FIGURE 1: Size of the workforce employed in the blue economy
(_Source_: data.europa.eu
[https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/blue-economy-indicators?locale=en],
Blue Economy Observatory
[https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/dashboard-0_en]) 

 

AN OPEN DATA PERSPECTIVE ON COASTAL TOURISM 

The EU’s coastal regions stand out as preferred choices for both
European and global tourists. As indicated by the open data in
Figure 2, in normal years, coastal tourism is the largest and
fastest-growing sector within the EU blue economy, particularly in
terms of employment opportunities. Especially for certain countries,
like the southern European ones, seasonal coastal tourism generates a
significant portion of their total national income and employment. 

However, the sector experienced some of the most severe impacts across
the entire economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily due to the
introduction of global travel restrictions. In 2020, coastal tourism
experienced a staggering reduction in turnover, leading the sector’s
turnover size to fall behind maritime transport and living resources.
However, in 2021, coastal tourism jumped back, surpassing living
resources and reaching a turnover of EUR 140 billion. Figure 2
shows that in 2021, Spain accounted for 22 % of the total EU coastal
tourism turnover, followed by France with 18 %, Italy with 12 %,
and Greece with 10 %. 

With regard to employment, the sector experienced a 40 % decrease in
2020, but the recovery that followed raised employment back to
1.91 million in 2021, still significantly lower than its 2018 high
of 2.86 million. In 2021, Spain accounted for 22 % of EU jobs in
coastal tourism, followed by Greece with 19 % (a sharp increase from
2020’s 11 %), France with 13 %, and Italy with 9 %. It is
worth noting that, despite the significant downturn of 2019 and 2020,
coastal tourism maintained its status as the leading contributor to
employment. In 2021, the sector accounted for nearly 54 % of jobs
[https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-blue-economy-report-2024-innovation-and-sustainability-drive-growth-2024-05-30_en]
in the blue economy. 

Figure 2 shows the evolution of both employment and turnover between
2009 and 2021, and the trend in 2021 highlights the quick recovery of
tourism from the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue to explore coastal
tourism and its recovery through open data here
[https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/depth-analytical-tool_en]. 
[https://data.europa.eu/sites/default/files/img/media/20240719_Blue%20Economy_Tourism.png]
FIGURE 2: Size of workforce and turnover of coastal tourism
(_Source_: data.europa.eu
[https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/blue-economy-indicators?locale=en],
Blue Economy Observatory
[https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/dashboard-0_en]) 

 

AN OPEN DATA PERSPECTIVE ON RENEWABLE OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY 

Marine renewable energy represents an incredible opportunity to green
the EU economy and contribute to the 2050 objectives of the European
Green Deal
[https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en].
Marine renewable energy is a major source of sustainable energy that
is generated from offshore wind farms and other ocean energy
technologies. The Green Deal plans to escalate offshore wind energy
deployment
[https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_2341] to
cover approximately 30 % of the EU’s future electricity supply.
Overall, the sector generated EUR 3.34 billion in gross value
added
[https://oceans-and-fisheries.ec.europa.eu/news/eu-blue-economy-report-2024-innovation-and-sustainability-drive-growth-2024-05-30_en]
(GVA, meaning value generated by entities of the blue economy through
the production of goods and services) in 2021, which represents a
39 % increase compared with 2020 and a 346 % increase from 2015. 

The overarching goal is to establish offshore wind energy as a pivotal
contributor to Europe’s journey towards carbon neutrality, and open
data is crucial to tracking these steps. Figure 3 shows that the
sector has experienced a steep increase, especially after 2014. The
visual aims to highlight the significant growth in GVA and turnover
from 2009 to 2021. Notably, in 2021, turnover grew 77-fold compared to
its initial value in 2009; while GVA increased 36-fold. This signals
incredible progress that sees Belgium leading the ranking, followed by
the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. Check out how other EU Member
States are doing on the dashboard
[https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/depth-analytical-tool_en]. 
[https://data.europa.eu/sites/default/files/img/media/20240719_Blue%20Economy_Ocean%20energy.png]
FIGURE 3: Turnover and GVA of the offshore wind energy sector
(_Source_: data.europa.eu
[https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/blue-economy-indicators?locale=en],
Blue Economy Observatory
[https://blue-economy-observatory.ec.europa.eu/dashboard-0_en]) 

 

CONCLUSION 

This story delves into various aspects of the EU blue economy,
analysing open data on key economic indicators. Open data sheds light
on the main actors in the blue economy in terms of employment. While
the bigger Member States employ the majority of workers in absolute
terms, smaller ones such as Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta
present the highest relative employment rates. Tourism emerges as a
pivotal sector within the blue economy, and open data provides
evidence of the substantial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
sector, but it also highlights the recovery starting in 2021 in terms
of both employment and turnover. Open data also emphasises the
expansion of the offshore wind sector, especially given the increasing
importance of sustainable renewable sources in the EU’s energy mix.
Data indicates that turnover of the offshore wind energy sector grew
77-fold in 2021 compared to its initial value in 2009, while GVA
increased 36-fold. 

Open data is crucial for understanding the dynamics of different
economic sectors and guiding data-based policymaking. Do you want to
explore the other sectors of the blue economy? You can access numerous
open datasets on data.europa.eu [https://data.europa.eu/en]. Stay
updated on our upcoming data stories and webinars by subscribing to
our newsletter [https://data.europa.eu/en/newsletter] and following
data.europa.eu on social media. 
