Dhaka, Sept. 3 -- The European Union (EU) plus the UK in terms of economic mass practically represents Europe. Therefore, the EU and Europe is used interchangeably in this article. The EU now has a population of 448 million with 27 member countries down by 12.8 per cent with 512 million when the UK was also a member. The EU economy is the third largest economy in the world in nominal terms only after the US and China. The EU's GDP was estimated at US$17.9 trillion in 2020, representing about one sixth of the global economy. The Euro is the common currency of 19 member countries out of 27 members. The euro is the second largest reserve currency and second most traded currency in the world after the US dollar.

The EU economy will thus cont...