--- description: Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands would be the worst hit countries if the United Kingdom were to leave the European Union title: Brexit: These European Union Countries Would Be Worst Hit image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f4ac24a80661171/69889819cd1bba98b8701215/brexit-david-cameron-referendum.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Brexit Would Hit These Countries The Worst  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 16, 2016 12:16 PM CUT  British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks about the EU and takes part in a question and answer session at the British Gas HQ on June 15, 2016 in Cardiff, Wales. British Prime Minister David Cameron speaks about the EU and takes part in a question and answer session at the British Gas HQ on June 15, 2016 in Cardiff, Wales.Matt Cardy—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jun 16, 2016 12:16 PM CUT Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands would be the worst hit countries if the United Kingdom were to [leave the European Union](http://time.com/4367939/brexit-european-union-brussels-june-23/ "undefined"), according to a Bloomberg [report](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-16/ireland-belgium-might-take-biggest-hit-if-u-k-leaves-eu-chart "undefined"). The report found that 8% of the Irish economy depends on trade with the U.K. followed by 7% of the Belgian economy and 6% of the Dutch economy. The Czech Republic and Germany round out the top five of the biggest losers. Britons will vote on a referendum over leaving the U.K. on June 23\. Prime Minister David Cameron and other top government officials have warned that an exit could devastate the country’s economy, but the idea seems to be [gaining favor](http://fortune.com/2016/06/14/its-looking-increasingly-likely-britain-will-vote-to-leave-europe-investors-are-nervous/ "undefined") in the polls. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4371294/brexit-david-cameron-polls/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4371294/brexit-david-cameron-polls/"},"headline":"Brexit Would Hit These Countries The Worst","datePublished":"2016-06-16T12:16:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:39:04.583Z","description":"Britons will vote on a referendum over leaving the U.K. on June 23","url":"https://time.com/4371294/brexit-david-cameron-polls/","keywords":["United Kingdom"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f4ac24a80661171/69889819cd1bba98b8701215/brexit-david-cameron-referendum.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f4ac24a80661171/69889819cd1bba98b8701215/brexit-david-cameron-referendum.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"brexit david cameron eu referendum","caption":"brexit david cameron eu referendum","creditText":"Matt Cardy—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4371294/brexit-david-cameron-polls/","name":"Brexit Would Hit These Countries The Worst"}}]}] ```