Almost 10 percent of the world population live in Europe, where about 40 percent of world production of natural stone was produced last year. The countries of Europe export almost ten million tons of stones every year. Conversely, about nine million tons of natural stones are imported. In spite of the strong growth of other non-European countries, mainly China, India and Brazil, the old continent plays an important role in this industry. The growth in Europe has tailed off somewhat in the last six years by international comparison, but the consumption of natural stone in Europe is still growing constantly. Whereas the ceramic industry is plagued by sales worries, natural stone continues to expand. Italy overtook Germany in 2001 and holds the top position among the import countries in Europe. The growth rates for exports lacked uniformity. Italy only managed to record very low growth, whereas Spain had better results and exported more than two million tons of natural stone in 2001. Spain is followed by Portugal, which has established itself as third largest export country in Europe.