The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by six countries in 1958.
With a combined population of over 500 million inhabitants, or 7.3% of the world population, the EU generated a nominal GDP of 16,242 billion US dollars in 2010, which represents an estimated 20% of global GDP when measured in terms of purchasing power parity.