“This publication provides a statistical portrait of the European Union in relation to the rest of the world. It complements information found in the continuously updated online publication Europe in figures — Eurostat yearbook and in the Eurostat regional yearbook. It may be viewed as an introduction to European and international statistics and provides a starting point for those who wish to explore the wide range of data that are feely available from a variety of international organisations and on Eurostat’s website at http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat“