91ÖÆƬ³§

As a continent, the economy of Europe is currently the largest on Earth and it is the richest region as measured by assets under management with over $32.7 trillion compared to North America's $27.1 trillion in 2008. In 2009 Europe remained the wealthiest region. Its $37.1 trillion in assets under management represented one-third of the world's wealth. The European Union, an intergovernmental body composed of 28 European states, comprises the largest single economic area in the world. 18 EU countries share the euro as a common currency. Five European countries rank in the top ten of the world's largest national economies in GDP (PPP). This includes ransk according to the CIA, Germany at 5th, the UK at 6th, Russia 7th, France 8th, and Italy 10th . There is huge disparity between many European countries in terms of their income. The richest in terms of GDP per capita is Monaco with its $172,676 per capita according to 2009 and the poorest is Moldova with its GDP per capita of $1,631. Monaco is the richest country in terms of GDP per capita in the world according to the World Bank. It was one of several regions where wealth surpassed its precrisis year-end peak. As with other continents, Europe has a large variation of wealth among its countries. The richer states tend to be in the West; some of the Central and Eastern European economies are still emerging from the collapse of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. In early 2010, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed concerning some countries in Europe, especially Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. As a result, measures were taken, especially for Greece, by the leading countries of the Eurozone.