Profile

The European chemical industry represents around 635 billion euro in turnover and is an essential element of most everyday products. The EU27 chemical industry, encompassing base, specialty, and consumer chemicals, is vital to the European economy, supplying diverse sectors and employing 1.2 million people. The chemical industry is a major supplier to key sectors such as automotive, construction, electronics, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and personal care – highlighting its fundamental role in European industrial value chains. The specialty chemicals and petrochemicals sub-segments contribute to more than half of chemical sales.

The industry faces increasing challenges due to China’s dominance, holding 45% of global sales and driving the majority of investments from the global chemical industry. Europe’s market share on the global chemical market has declined by 8 percentage points over the past 15 years, from 21% to 13% between 2009 and 2024 in nominal sales. In contrast, China grew its global market share from 24% to 46% over the same period.