The gross domestic product (GDP) of the euro area recorded in the third quarter of 2026 a quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.4%, which represents a moderation of two tenths compared with the 0.6% increase recorded between April and June, according to the second estimate released by Eurostat.
In the case of the whole European Union, the Community statistical office confirms that GDP rose by 0.5% between July and September, also two tenths less than the 0.7% expansion recorded in the second quarter of 2026.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP rebounded by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.5% in the total of the Twenty-Seven in the third quarter of 2026.
Between July and September of 2026, Ireland (+5.5%) was the country with the largest rebound in GDP versus the previous quarter, followed by Romania (+2.1%) and Poland (+0.8%).
In this regard, Eurostat warns that the preliminary estimate of Ireland’s GDP is classified as a result of the Boundary Series of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), so that "special care must be taken when interpreting this estimate".
On the other hand, Lithuania saw a 1% fall in activity, while France’s GDP decreased by 0.1% in the quarter.
According to the data released this Friday, Spain again topped economic growth in the third quarter among the main economies of the EU, with an advance of 0.6%, above the 0.2% increase in Germany, the stagnation in Italy, and the 0.1% contraction in France.
Against the backdrop of the European slowdown, the GDP of the United States increased by 0.8% in the third quarter of the year, after the 0.6% expansion recorded in the second quarter.