This regional survey describes current aquaculture sectors in countries of Eastern Europe (including the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and Northwestern Europe. The countries considered are:
Eastern Europe
Bulgaria
Czechoslovakia
German Democratic Republic (GDR)
Hungary
Poland
Romania
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
Northwestern Europe
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Faeroes
Finland
Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)
Iceland
Ireland
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom (UK)
The population of Eastern Europe is 389.6 million, of which the USSR has 277.6 million inhabitants. The annual average growth rate for the period 1973-85 is 0.8-0.9% for Poland, Romania, and the USSR; for the others it is smaller, and even zero in the GDR. The countries of Eastern Europe belong to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA or COMECON).
The population of Northwestern Europe is 182.3 million. The countries of this region belong to two different economic groups, namely the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Austria, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, with a combined population of 31.6 million; and the European Economic Community (EEC), which includes Belgium, Denmark, Faeroes, FRG, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the UK, with a combined population of 150.7 million. The population growth rate is about 1% in the Faeroes, Iceland and Ireland. It is smaller in the other countries, and even zero in the FRG.
Only two countries in the Eastern block report their gross national products (GNP). In 1985 the GNP per caput was US$ 1 940 in Hungary and US$ 2 120 in Poland. In the Northwestern countries the GNP per caput is 5-8 times higher, with the exception of Ireland where it is US$ 4 840. The highest GNP per caput is in Switzerland (US$ 16 380), and Norway (US$ 13 890), while most of the other countries are in the order of US$ 8 000-12 000.
