Editing Central Europe (section)

==Economy==
{{Further|List of central European countries by development indexes#Economy}}

===Currencies===
Currently, the members of the [[Eurozone]] include Austria, Croatia, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland use their own currencies ([[Czech koruna|koruna]], [[Hungarian forint|forint]], [[Polish złoty]], respectively), but are obliged to adopt the Euro. Switzerland uses its own currency ([[Swiss franc]]), as does Serbia ([[Serbian dinar|dinar]]) and Romania ([[Romanian leu]]).

===Human Development Index===
{{Further|List of central European countries by development indexes#Human Development Index}}
[[File:2013 UN Human Development Report Quartiles.svg|upright=1.35|thumb|World map by quartiles of Human Development Index in 2013:
{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%;"
|-
| {{legend|#003399|Very High}} || {{legend|#E6EDFF|Low}}
|-
| {{legend|#3072D9|High}} || {{legend|#858585|Data unavailable}}
|-
| {{legend|#A8C3FF|Medium}} ||
|}]]

In 2018, Switzerland topped the HDI list among Central European countries, also ranking No. 2 in the world. Serbia rounded out the list at No. 11 (67 world).

===Globalisation===
{{Further|List of central European countries by development indexes#Globalisation}}
[[File:Globalization Index.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Map showing the score for the KOF Globalization Index]]

The [[Globalisation index|index of globalization]] in Central European countries (2016 data):<ref>{{cite news|format=PDF|url=https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/dual/kof-dam/documents/Globalization/2018/Ranking_2018_2.xlsx|title=2018 KOF Globalization Index|agency=KOF Index of Globalization|year=2018|access-date=5 August 2019}}</ref> Switzerland topped this list as well (#1 world).

===Prosperity Index===
{{Further|List of central European countries by development indexes#Prosperity}}

[[Legatum Prosperity Index]] demonstrates an average and high level of prosperity in Central Europe (2018 data).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prosperity.com/rankings|title=Rankings|website=Legatum Prosperity Index 2018|access-date=25 July 2019}}</ref> Switzerland topped the index (#4 world).

===Corruption===
{{Further|List of central European countries by development indexes#Corruption}}
[[File:Transparency international 2015.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Overview of the index of perception of corruption, 2015:
{| border="0" style="width: 100%; background: #f9f9f9;"
|-
| {{Legend0|#0000ff|90–100}}
| {{Legend0|#ffce63|60–69}}
| {{Legend0|#ff0000|30–39}}
| {{Legend0|#2b0000|0–9}}
|-
| {{Legend0|#287fff|80–89}}
| {{Legend0|#ffa552|50–59}}
| {{Legend0|#c60000|20–29}}
| {{Legend0|#e0e0e0|No information}}
|-
| {{Legend0|#00ffff|70–79}}
| {{Legend0|#ff6b6b|40–49}}
| {{Legend0|#800000|10–19}}
|}
]]

Most countries in Central Europe tend to score above the average in the [[Corruption Perceptions Index]] (2018 data),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018|title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2018|last=e.V|first=Transparency International|website=transparency.org|date=29 January 2019|access-date=25 July 2019|archive-date=28 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228021007/https://www.transparency.org/cpi2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> led by Switzerland, Germany, and Austria.

====Rail====
[[File:Rail density map.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Rail network density]]

Central Europe contains the continent's earliest railway systems, whose greatest expansion was recorded in Austrian, Czech, [[German Empire|German]], Hungarian and Swiss territories between 1860-1870s.{{sfn|Magocsi|2002|p=1758}} By the mid-19th century Berlin, Vienna, [[Zurich]], [[Pest, Hungary|Pest]] and [[Prague]] were focal points for network lines connecting industrial areas of [[Saxony]], [[Silesia]], Bohemia, Moravia and Lower Austria with the Baltic ([[Kiel]], [[Szczecin]]) and Adriatic ([[Rijeka]], Trieste).{{sfn|Magocsi|2002|p={{page needed|date=October 2023}}}} By 1913, the combined length of the railway tracks of Austria and Hungary reached {{convert|43280|km|abbr=off}}. By 1936, 70% of the [[Swiss Federal Railways|Swiss Federal Railway]] network had undergone electrification.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elsasser |first=Kilian |date=2020 |title=All electricity is not the same |url=https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2020/05/electrifying-the-sbb/ |website=Swiss National Museum}}</ref>

Rail infrastructure in Central Europe remains the densest in the world. Railway density as of 2022, with total length of lines operated (km) per 1,000 km2, from highest to lowest is Switzerland (129.2), the Czech Republic (120.7), Germany (108.8), Hungary (85.0), Slovakia (74.0), Austria (66.5), Poland (61.9), Slovenia (59.6), Serbia (49.2), Croatia (46.3) and Lithuania (29.4).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Railway density - Data Portal - United Nations Economic Commission for Europe |url=https://w3.unece.org/PXWeb/en/Table?IndicatorCode=47 |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=UNECE}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Inland_transport_infrastructure_at_regional_level|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508143341/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Inland_transport_infrastructure_at_regional_level|archive-date=8 May 2013|title=Inland transport infrastructure at regional level – Statistics Explained|publisher=European Commission|access-date=4 August 2014}}</ref>

====River transport and canals====
Before the first railroads appeared in the 1840s, river transport constituted the main means of communication and trade.{{sfn|Magocsi|2002|p={{page needed|date=October 2023}}}} Earliest canals included Plauen Canal (1745), Finow Canal, and also [[Begej|Bega Canal]] (1710) which connected [[Timișoara]] to [[Novi Sad]] and [[Belgrade]] via the Danube.{{sfn|Magocsi|2002|p={{page needed|date=October 2023}}}} The most significant achievement in this regard was the facilitation of navigability on the Danube from the [[Black Sea|Black sea]] to [[Ulm]] in the 19th century.

The economies of Central Europe tend to demonstrate [[List of countries by economic complexity|high complexity]]. Industrialisation reached Central Europe relatively early beginning with Germany and the [[Czech lands]] near the end of the 18th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.erih.net/how-it-started/industrial-history-of-european-countries/czech-republic |title=On the industrial history of the Czech Republic|access-date=20 May 2021}}</ref>

The industrialization of the cities of Romania<ref>{{cite book|author=Alin Rus|title=The Globalization of Rural Plays in the Twenty-First Century|publisher=[[Lexington Books]]|year=2022|page=1|isbn=978-1666915440|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bJKbEAAAQBAJ&dq=industrialization+started+in+romania+interwar+period&pg=PA1}}</ref> and Serbia<ref>{{cite book|author1=Mauro Pinho|author2=Marco Antonio Schueda|author3=Danielle do Rocio Brostulin|title=Principles and concepts for development in nowadays society|publisher=[[University of South Carolina Press]]|year=2022|page=315|isbn= 9798218077921|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WffTEAAAQBAJ&dq=serbian+industrialization+interwar&pg=PA315}}</ref> started in the [[interwar period]], and did not make significant progress until the post ww2 era.

==== Agriculture ====
Central European countries are some of the most significant food producers in the world. Germany is the world's largest [[hops]] producer with 34.27% share in 2010,<ref name="Gabrielyan">Gnel Gabrielyan, ''[http://www.impact.wsu.edu/MarshFiles/AAEA%20Domestic%20and%20International%20Price%20Formation%20of%20US%20Hops.pdf Domestic and Export Price Formation of U.S. Hops] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426215451/http://www.impact.wsu.edu/MarshFiles/AAEA%20Domestic%20and%20International%20Price%20Formation%20of%20US%20Hops.pdf |date=26 April 2014 }}'' School of Economic Sciences at Washington State University. PDF file, direct download 220&nbsp;KB. Retrieved 25 April 2014.</ref> Slovenia is one of the world's leading producers of honey.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Slovenia and beekeeping {{!}} GOV.SI |url=https://www.gov.si/en/registries/projects/world-bee-day/slovenija-in-cebelarstvo/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Portal GOV.SI |language=en}}</ref> Serbia is the world's 2nd largest producer of [[Plum|plums]] and 2nd largest producer of [[Raspberry|raspberries]].<ref name="pod2.stat.gov.rs2">{{Cite web |title=Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Serbia |url=https://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/G2012/pdf/G20122007.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101201001/http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/G2012/pdf/G20122007.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-01 |access-date=22 October 2022 |publisher=Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia |language=sr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Serbia Overview |url=http://faostat3.fao.org/home/index.html#VISUALIZE_BY_AREA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401115157/http://faostat3.fao.org/home/index.html#VISUALIZE_BY_AREA |archive-date=1 April 2013 |access-date=14 June 2013 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref>

====Business====
Central European business has a regional organisation, Central European Business Association (CEBA), founded in 1996 in New York as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting business opportunities within Central Europe and supporting the advancement of professionals in America with a Central European background.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centraleurope.org/|title=Welcome centraleurope.org – Hostmonster.com|website=centraleurope.org|access-date=28 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401224344/http://www.centraleurope.org/|archive-date=1 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Tourism====
Central European countries, especially Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland are some of the most competitive tourism destinations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TravelTourismCompetitiveness_Report_2011.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_TravelTourismCompetitiveness_Report_2011.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011: Beyond the Downturn|work=World Economic Forum|year=2011|access-date=16 October 2015}}</ref>