How Much Do You Know About European Commerce? Take Our Quiz

Think you’re up to speed on what’s happening within the European Union with current payroll and financial trends? Take our quiz, and see how you do! You might find that what you learn can help your understanding of trends in the place where you live. Find out how to project your own financial growth by keeping your finger on the economic pulse.

Financial technology, or fintech, is an industry which has rapidly expanded these past few years. Merging tech and finance, its benefits are wide-reaching and massively profitable to businesses of all sizes.

1. Annual fintech deals and financing reached its record in 2017. How much of the 16.6 billion dollars generated was the European funded share of this amount?

• 500 million
• More than 2 billion
• 50 million
• 1.5 billion

Something else which has been making headlines all over the world in the past few years has been the gender pay gap. This is the average difference in pay for men and women who work the same hours. The differences in countries vary quite strongly, as do the industries in which these differences are the starkest.

2. In which sector in the EU is the gender pay gap highest?

• Healthcare
• Music Industry
• Insurance and Finance
• Information Technology

The United Kingdom is, as of this writing, still a part of the EU. Due to its massive influence on the financial industry, it is important to understand and analyze its economic data, starting with salary.

3. What were the average UK employee earnings in 2018?

• 1.9% higher than 2017
• 5.2% higher than 2017
• -0.9% less than 2017
• 3.5% higher than 2017

We touched on fintech in a previous question, and because it’s had such an impact on businesses around the world, here is another question about its endorsement in Europe.

4. What is the percentage of European fintech adoption?

• 26%
• 12%
• 86%
• 33%

We know that the average salary went up this year for the United Kingdom. How did the rest of the European Union fare?

5. Which country in the EU member countries had the highest gross income in 2018?

• Italy
• Spain
• Denmark
• Portugal

Salaries and wage growth is looking to be the trend for 2018 across much of Europe, and most of the data gathered here has reflected an eight-hour work day. However, across Europe hours are not the same across the board.

6. Which country works the longest hours in Europe?

• England
• Greece
• Germany
• Slovakia

We all know the high costs of living, all over the world. Many people of different generations are struggling, but what about the much-maligned Millennials? They are one of the hardest hit, due to faster rates of increasing expenses, higher tuition fees, transport, and grocery costs.

7. What country’s Millennials costs are among the EU’s highest, but whose pay lags far behind?

• Poland
• Sweden
• Romania
• United Kingdom

Answer Key:

1. The Europe funding share of this staggering figure is more than $2 billion! Fintech has been a boon for customers and businesses alike, and all indicators show that it will only continue to grow. This isn’t specific to European countries; fintech is expanding at rapid rates on a global scale.
2. In the European Union, the gender pay gap is greatest in the insurance and financial sectors. And in the entire EU in 2016, women were paid an average of 16.2% less than men! You can see some more statistics here, which lays out where the smallest and largest gaps were seen by country.
3. Median earnings in the United Kingdom, based on full-time hours, increased to £569. This is 3.5% higher than in 2017. This is the highest growth in earnings in ten years!
4. It is close to the worldwide average of 33%, with the UK leading the way at 42%. Spain and Germany also have high rates for using fintech, at 37% and 35%.
5. Denmark is number one with an average gross income of €5191.00, followed by Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland, and Ireland making up the top five. All of these countries saw the average wage rise this year with the exception of Finland, where the average wage held steady.
6. It’s Greece, with an average working week of 42.3 hours. The Dutch clock in with the fewest weekly hours, at 30.3. Work-life balance here is considered to be the best in all OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) countries.
7. Millennials in the United Kingdom have the highest costs in the EU, and their rates of pay lag far behind what they need for their basic needs. They are facing the highest rents in Europe, expensive transport costs, and their 2018 wages come in 11th place out of 30 European countries for pay.

How did you do? If you got 5 or more answers right you have a strong understanding of European commerce. If not, then you learned more about it and will do better on the next quiz.

Wondering how this data from the EU can affect and inform your own local payroll practices? You can combine technology with your accounting needs to create balanced and accurate reports, as well as the ability to track employee hours on the go and get precise, billable hour information. Sign up today for our free, 14-day Time Tracker trial. No credit card required.