An Indicator Analysis for the Development of EU Countries in Relation to Sustainable Development

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present the differentiation in the level of economic development among the EU Member States in the context of the progress in implementing the concept of sustainable development. Design/Methodology/Approach: The time scope of the analysis involved the years 2014 and 2019, and the territorial one covered 27 EU countries. The research procedure used data from Eurostat and methods of descriptive statistics were applied, i.e. minimum value, maximum value, average, coefficient of variation. Findings: The discussion led to the identification and application of indicators that enable describing economic development in the context of sustainable development of the EU-27 countries in 2014 and 2019. Based on the presented results, it can be concluded that positive changes are taking place in many countries that are getting closer to the implementation of the sustainable development paradigm, which is one of the main priorities of the Europe 2020 Strategy: the long-term socio-economic program of the EU. Practical Implications: The results of the analysis conducted may contribute to the assessment of the effects of the development policy pursued in the EU-27 countries so far. Originality/value: Indicator analysis of the economy development of EU countries in the context of the implementation of the concept of sustainable development is not often undertaken in scientific research.