The EU generates almost a quarter of world GDP despite containing just 7 per cent of the world's population, a new statistical analysis by Eurostat has revealed. 

In total, the 20 countries that make up the G20 account for a massive 85 per cent of global GDP. 

In a report comparing the 28-nation bloc to the 15 non-EU countries that form part of the G20, Eurostat noted that the EU average of 1.5 births per woman was the third-lowest among G20 countries. Only Japan (1.4) and South Korea (1.2) have a lower birth rate. 

The EU's old-age dependency, measured as the ratio of the number of people aged 65 and over to the working age population, is the second-highest among G20 states, with its 28.1 per cent rate beating Canada, Australia and the United States. 

Almost 7 per cent of the EU's population was born outside its borders, the report found. While higher than the 3.3 per cent world average, this figure pales in comparison to Australia's 28.2 per cent, Canada's 21.8 per cent or the USA's 14.5 per cent figure. Saudi Arabia, where one in three have been born overseas, leads the pack. 

In terms of trade, Eurostat's 'The EU in the world' report identified Russia and Turkey as key trading partners for the bloc, with approximately 45 per cent of exports from each of those countries going to the EU. In return, approximately 6.1 per cent and 4.4 per cent of EU exports went to Russia and China respectively. 

In absolute terms, the USA and China remained the EU's largest trading partners. 17.1 per cent of US and 15.8 per cnet of Chinese exports went to the EU, while the shares of the United States and China in total EU exports were 18.3 per cent and 9.7 per cent respectively.

Other key findings from the report include: