Comparison of changes in volume of GDP in EU member states, Q4 2025 (expanded first estimate), year 2025

Released: 23 February 2026

The economic performance of the European Union increased by 1.5% – according to seasonally and calendar adjusted data – in the 4th quarter of 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year. Eurostat published data for 20 member states on 13 February 2026, out of which the volume of GDP went up in 18. The largest growths (of 6.7% and 4.5%, respectively) occurred in Ireland and Cyprus, and the volume of GDP was unchanged in Finland and decreased by 1.6% in Romania compared to the 4th quarter of the previous year. Among Visegrád countries, the economic performance grew to a lower extent in Hungary and Slovakia (0.5% and 0.8%, respectively) than the EU average, by 3.6% in Poland and by 2.4% in Czechia.

The performance of Hungary’s economy was 0.5% higher according to the seasonally and calendar adjusted datum and 0.7% higher according to the raw (unadjusted) datum than in the corresponding period of the previous year. The largest contributors to GDP growth in Hungary were the performance of services, within which first of all financial and insurance activities and wholesale and retail trade, as well as that of construction, however, the economic performance was slowed down by a fall in industry.

Compared to the previous quarter, the volume of the EU’s GDP was up by 0.3% and that of Hungary’s at a lower rate, by 0.2%.

In 2025 as a whole, the EU’s economic performance was 1.6% and Hungary’s 0.3% higher (0.4% higher according to the unadjusted, raw datum) than in the previous year. 18 member states’ annual data were available on 13 February 2026, out of which the economic performance grew at the highest rates in Ireland (13.3%) and Cyprus (3.8%), and the lowest increases were measured for Hungary (0.3%) and Finland (0.1%).

According to the forecast of the International Monetary Fund, the economic growth in the European Union may accelerate to 1.5% in 2026, and a 1.1% increase is expected for Germany, considered to be our most important foreign trade partner.

In its forecast published in November 2025, the European Commission predicted a GDP growth of 2.3% for Hungary and of 1.4% for the European Union as a whole for 2026. The National Bank of Hungary anticipated a 2.4% rise in the economic performance for 2026 in its inflation report in December 2025.