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

Released: 23 March 2026

The economic performance of the European Union increased by 1.4% – according to seasonally and calendar adjusted data – in the 4th quarter of 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year. The volume of GDP went up in 26 member states. The largest growths (of 6.4% and 4.5%, respectively) occurred in Malta and Cyprus, and the volume of GDP decreased merely in Romania (by 1.5%) compared to the 4th quarter of the previous year. Among Visegrád countries, the economic performance grew to a lower extent in Hungary and Slovakia (0.6% and 0.9%, respectively) than the EU average, by 3.6% in Poland and by 2.6% in Czechia.

The performance of Hungary’s economy was 0.6% higher according to the seasonally and calendar adjusted datum and 0.8% higher according to the raw (unadjusted) datum than in the corresponding period of the previous year. From the production approach, the largest contributor to GDP volume increase was services, the performance of which rose by 1.0% in total, within which outstanding was the growth (5.9%) in financial and insurance activities. The performances of wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food service activities both were up by 2.1%. The performance of construction increased by 5.1%, however, industry reduced its performance by 1.8%, within which manufacturing by 0.8%. The value added of agriculture was 1.7% lower than in the corresponding period of the previous year. From the expenditure approach, the consumption of households picked up, it was 3.0% higher than in the same period of the previous year. Household final consumption expenditure, representing the largest proportion of the components of the actual final consumption of households, rose by 2.7%, gross capital formation became 3.8% larger compared to the same period of the previous year and gross fixed capital formation diminished by 1.0%. In the external trade of the economy, a surplus of 551 billion forints was generated at current prices.

Compared to the previous quarter, the volume of the EU’s and of Hungary’s GDP both were up by 0.2%.

In 2025 as a whole, the EU’s economic performance was 1.5% and Hungary’s 0.3% higher (0.4% higher according to the unadjusted, raw datum) than in the previous year. The economic performance increased in all member countries in 2025, out of which it grew at the highest rates in Ireland (12.3%) and Malta (4.0%), and the lowest increases were measured for Germany (0.2%) and Finland (0.2%). Among Visegrád countries, the performance grew by 3.6% in Poland, by 2.5% in Czechia and by 0.8% in Slovakia in 2025.

According to the forecast of the International Monetary Fund, the economic growth in the European Union may accelerate to 1.5% in 2026, and the IMF predicts a 1.1% increase 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 domestic economic performance for 2026 in its inflation report in December 2025.