Ireland saw by far the biggest increase in industrial production in the EU in August 2025, compared to the corresponding month a year earlier, with a 28.6% rise, according to new data from Eurostat.
Other countries to report an above average increase in industrial production, on an annual basis, included Luxembourg (+9.5%), Sweden (+8.3%), Malta (+4.9%) and Spain (+3.2%).
At the other end of the scale, a number of EU member states reported a decline in industrial production for the month, led by Bulgaria (-8.6%), Slovakia (-6.3%) and Denmark (-5.0%). No data was available for Belgium.
Industrial production in the EU
On an annual basis, industrial production increased by 1.1% in both the euro area and the EU in August 2025.
In terms of different sectors, at EU level industrial production decreased by 1.3% for intermediate goods, decreased by 1.5% for energy, increased for capital goods by 0.5%, decreased for durable consumer goods by 1.9% and increased for non-durable consumer goods by 6.5%, Eurostat‘s data showed.
On a month-on-month basis, i.e. compared to July 2025, industrial production fell by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.0% in the EU.
The largest month-on-month increase in industrial production was recorded in Ireland (+9.8%), Luxembourg (+4.8%) and Sweden (+3.6%), while the largest decreases were seen in Germany (-5.2%), Greece (-4.5%) and Austria (-3.1%).
Analyst comment
Commenting on the industrial production figures, Bert Colijn, chief economist with ING in the Netherlands, said, “Despite optimism among manufacturers returning, the hard data is telling a different story at the moment. After a peak in production related to the US frontloading of European goods, the past few months have shown a declining trend again. Production is still elevated compared to late-2024 levels, but is quickly moving back in that direction.
“Sizeable eurozone investment plans will take time to materialise, which means that while optimism about the medium-term outlook for the eurozone industry has become brighter, there is no immediate reason for short-term optimism as trade with the US settles into a new regime. For the third quarter, this means that manufacturing is unlikely to have contributed positively to GDP growth, keeping expectations for growth very muted.” Read more here.
Annual Increase/Decrease in Industrial Production by EU Member State, August 2025 (%)
| Country | Change (%) |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 28.6 |
| Luxembourg | 9.5 |
| Sweden | 8.3 |
| Malta | 4.9 |
| Spain | 3.2 |
| Croatia | 3.0 |
| Latvia | 2.5 |
| Cyprus | 2.4 |
| Poland | 2.4 |
| Portugal | 1.8 |
| Netherlands | 1.6 |
| Estonia | 1.1 |
| France | 0.5 |
| Austria | 0.3 |
| Lithuania | 0.1 |
| Slovenia | -0.1 |
| Finland | -0.2 |
| Romania | -1.1 |
| Czechia | -1.3 |
| Greece | -2.7 |
| Italy | -2.7 |
| Germany | -4.6 |
| Hungary | -4.6 |
| Denmark | -5.0 |
| Slovakia | -6.3 |
| Bulgaria | -8.6 |
| Belgium | n/a |
