Comparison of changes in volume of GDP in EU member states, Q1 2026 (expanded first estimate)

Released: 2 June 2026

The economic performance of the European Union increased by 1.0% (according to seasonally and calendar adjusted data) in the 1st quarter of 2026 compared to the same period of the previous year. Eurostat published data for 19 member states on 15 May 2026, out of which the volume of GDP going down in Ireland and Romania (by 6.3% and 1.5%, respectively) and growing in the other countries. The largest increases (of 3.0% and 2.9%, respectively) occurred in Cyprus and Bulgaria. The economic growth continued to be moderate, 0.3% in Germany, considered to be the largest national economy in the EU and Hungary’s most important foreign trade partner. According to the seasonally and calendar adjusted datum, the performance of Hungary’s economy augmented by 1.7% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. The main contributor to the growth in gross domestic product was services, within which especially professional, scientific, technical and administrative activities. After a long period of time, the performance of industry also affected positively the change in GDP.

Compared to the previous quarter, the volume of the EU’s GDP grew by 0.2% and that of Hungary’s at a higher rate, by 0.8%. In this respect, Hungary was second to Finland in the order of the member states providing the data. The economic performance decreased in Ireland, Lithuania, Romania and Sweden compared to the previous quarter.

The National Bank of Hungary predicted a 1.7% economic increase for 2026 in its Inflation Report in March. In its forecast published in November 2025, the European Commission forecast a GDP growth of 2.3% for Hungary and of 1.4% for the European Union as a whole for 2026.