Public procurement in Europe amounts to more than EUR 2,000 billion per year, close to 15% of EU GDP.

Omissions

• The exact magnitude varies across official sources: the European Court of Auditors (Special Report 28/2023) puts it at 'around €2 trillion, or 14% of GDP', while the European Commission's single-market page cites 'around €2.6 trillion, or 15% of EU GDP'. OECD Government at a Glance 2025 gives 14.8% of GDP in 2023 for OECD-EU countries. The 'nearly 15%' figure therefore sits at the upper end of the range but is supported by the Commission.
• The figure is a long-standing structural estimate rather than a single-year precise statistic; the underlying share of GDP fluctuates slightly year to year.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Single Market and Industry: Public procurementEvery year, over 250 000 public authorities in the EU spend around €2.6 trillion, or 15% of EU GDP, on services, works and supplies.
• PrimaryEuropean Court of Auditors – Special Report 28/2023: Public procurement in the EUAround €2 trillion, or 14 % of the EU's gross domestic product, is spent each year on public procurement. Public procurement is a key element of the single market.
• PrimaryOECD – Government at a Glance 2025: Size of public procurementThe same trend was seen across the OECD-EU countries, where public procurement expenditure as a share of GDP stood at 14.8% in 2023, 13.9% in ...
• SecondaryLe Monde – European Commission pushes to simplify and 'Europeanize' public procurementPublic procurement across the EU totals €2.6 trillion every year, or 15% of the gross domestic product.