per cent) and the UK (2.8 per cent). It is relatively low in southern Europe; e.g., Italy (1.4 per cent), Spain
(1.7 per cent) and Portugal (1.2 per cent). More than half of people employed in the cultural sector has an
artistic or cultural activity.
Table 1: Shares of employment in cultural enterprises in Europe in 2002
Percentage |
EU-15 |
EFTA |
New members |
Total |
Publishing |
76 |
71 |
77 |
76 |
Artistic and cultural Activities |
76 |
71 |
75 |
76 |
Retail of books, |
7 |
7 |
7 |
7 |
Architecture |
71 |
71 |
71 |
71 |
Total |
7ω |
7ω |
7ω |
7ω |
Source: Definition and Production of Harmonized Statistics on Culture in Europe, Chapter 2:
Employment in cultural activities (2002), Eurostat, February 2004.
Table 2 uses the ISCO-classification and looks at cultural occupations only. There are about 2.9
million people working in cultural occupations in Europe, 2.5 million in the EU-15, 0.1 million in the
EFTA and 0.3 million in the new EU countries. This represents 1.5 per cent of the employed working
population of Europe, albeit slightly less in new EU countries. The share of cultural occupations in total
employment is particularly high in Sweden (2.3 per cent), Finland (2.1 per cent), Denmark and the UK
(1.9 per cent), the Netherlands (2.0 per cent), and Spain (2.2 per cent). The shares in France (1.2 per
cent), Belgium and Austria (1.3 per cent), Luxemburg (1.0 per cent), Germany (1.5 per cent), Greece (1.4
per cent) and Portugal (0.7 per cent) are lower than the EU-average. These figures refer to both
commercial and subsidised cultural employment.
Table 3 gives the shares of the various types of cultural occupations in Europe. The largest
category is writers and creative or performing artists (45 per cent). The second largest group in the EU-15
and EFTA is artistic and entertainment associate professionals (25 and 34 per cent, respectively), but in
new EU countries the second largest group is information professionals including archivists and
librarians (21 per cent). Shares of various cultural occupations do not vary much across countries of
Europe. A large fraction of cultural occupations is in the commercial sector.