Social And Economic Development Status Of European Union Countries

The purpose of this paper is to compare the social and economic development statuses of European Union countries in 2005 and 2016. The study relied on bilinear ordering with the use of positional TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) approach. By applying these methods, it was possible to determine the development levels in social and economic fields, and in socio-economic development levels (six levels: from very low to very high). Furthermore, four main types of development status were identified: socially and economically beneficial; economically beneficial; socially beneficial; and socially and economically less beneficial. Central and Eastern European countries (including Poland in particular) witnessed a clear improvement in their development statuses in 2016 compared to 2005. In turn, countries experiencing clear deterioration primarily include Greece. In both years under consideration, Denmark and Luxembourg were the only countries to maintain a very high level of socio-economic development accompanied by a socially and economically beneficial development status. Eurostat data provided the empirical basis for this study.