European Union – enlargement, the euro and economic scale
GeographyRegions & CountriesAges 16–17
Use it with your class: students open it from a link or a QR code, with no account needed.
Next in Regions & Countries
A hand-drawn map of Europe shows the EU's member states. Drag the year slider from 1957 to 2025 to watch the union grow through each round of accession, see which countries use the euro, and find when the United Kingdom left the EU in 2020. Switch the data layer to colour the map by accession round, by population, or by 2022 GDP; click a country to see its population, GDP, accession year and the year it adopted the euro.
Lesson: Geographic location, formation and development, features and status of the European Union
What it shows
The European Union is a political and economic union that grew from the six founding members of the European Economic Community in 1957 to 27 member states. Members form a single market with free movement of goods, services, capital and people, and 20 of them share the euro. The map treats enlargement as a process in stages, including the large eastward expansion of 2004, and shows the United Kingdom leaving in 2020. Population and GDP layers for 2022 reveal large differences in size and economic weight between member states.
How to use
With Mark countries using the euro turned on, drag the Year on map slider from 1957 or press Run to watch countries join round by round. Pause at key years such as 1973, 1995, 2004 and 2020 and count the members. Then switch the Data layer to Population and to Economy, and click countries to compare their population, GDP, accession year and the year they adopted the euro.
Parameters you can change
- Data layer Enlargement and the euro, Population – 2022, Economy – GDP 2022
- Year on map 1957–2025 year
- Selected country View whole union, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, United Kingdom (left the EU)
- Mark countries using the euro
- Show country names on the map
Questions to explore
- Which enlargement round added the most member states, and in which part of Europe were they?
- Name two member states that have not adopted the euro. Why might a country keep its own currency?
- Which member state had the largest GDP in 2022, and how does its population compare with France's?
