The GDP of the European Union increased by 1.4% in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, according to a preliminary flash estimate from Eurostat.
Within the euro area, the year-on-year GDP increase was 1.2%, while on a month-on-month basis, GDP rose by 0.3% in the EU and 0.4% in the euro area.
This marks the continuation of the moderate growth reported in the fourth quarter of last year, when GDP increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU, the data showed.
Ireland leads the way
Among the EU member states for which data is available, Ireland saw the strongest annual growth in GDP, of 10.9%, with Lithuania (+3.2%), Spain (+2.8%), the Netherlands (+2.0%) and Czechia (+2.0%) among the other countries to see growth ahead of the EU average.
Eleven member states posted positive annual growth rates, while three showed declines compared to the first quarter of 2024.
Notably, Germany was among the countries to see GDP decline over the past year, observing a 0.2% decline. The biggest year-on-year decline was reported in Austria, however, which saw a 0.7% drop.
Quarter-on-quarter increase
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Ireland again led the way, with a 3.2% increase, while Spain and Lithuania also posted solid gains of 0.6%. Hungary was the only EU member state to register a quarter-on-quarter decline, with GDP falling by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2025.
Among the countries not included in Eurostat’s findings is Portugal, which was unable to supply data due to the country’s power outage earlier this week. Read more here.
