EU GDP Growth Rate by Region, First Quarter 2021

The chart above shows the annualized nominal gross domestic product (GDP) quarterly growth rate in each EU region as of the first quarter of 2021 and the growth rate from one year prior.  The Southern EU was the only region to contract over the previous quarter.

Findings

• The difference between the region with the largest annualized quarterly growth rate, the Eastern EU, and the region with the smallest, the Southern EU, is 2.26 percentage points.
• The difference between the region with the largest year-over-year growth rate, the Northern EU, and the region with the smallest, the Southern EU, is 4.64 percentage points.
• Of the four regions, 3 grew faster over the previous quarter than they did over the same quarter last year, 0 saw the same growth over both time periods, and 1 grew slower over the previous quarter than they did over the same quarter last year.

Caveats

• Data is from the first quarter of 2020, the fourth quarter of 2020, and the first quarter of 2021.
• The data is seasonally adjusted in current euros.
• The data is annualized by multiplying the quarterly figure by four.
• All figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
• The Eastern EU consists of Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
• The Northern EU consists of Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
• The Southern EU consists of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Malta.
• The Western EU consists of Germany, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, and Luxembourg.

Details

The Southern EU had the worst performance over the previous quarter with an annualized rate of -0.17%.  The Eastern EU had the best performance with an annualized rate of 2.09%.

Year over year, the Southern EU had the worst performance with an annualized rate of -1.20% while the Northern EU had the best performance with an annualized rate of 3.44%.

The Northern EU saw the worst change in its growth rate between its year-over-year growth and its annualized quarterly growth slowing its rate by 1.67 percentage points.  The Eastern EU had the best change in its growth rate between its year-over-year growth and its annualized quarterly growth raising its rate by 1.78 percentage points.

The Southern EU had the smallest range in annualized quarterly growth rates with a low of -1.86% in Portugal to a high of 2.66% in Malta.  Conversely, the Western EU had the greatest range in annualized quarterly growth rates with a low of -0.80% in the Netherlands to a high of 9.88% in Ireland.  Year-over-year, the Southern EU had the smallest range in growth rates with a low of -4.88% in Greece to a high of 0.75 in Italy.  The Western EU on the other hand, had the greatest range of rates on a year-over-year basis with a low of -3.47% in the United Kingdom to a high of 8.85% in Ireland.

Sources

Eurostat.  2021.  "GDP and Main Components."  Accessed July 21, 2021.  https://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-406779_QID_-41E5E7A5_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=TIME,C,X,0;GEO,L,Y,0;UNIT,L,Z,0;S_ADJ,L,Z,1;NA_ITEM,L,Z,2;INDICATORS,C,Z,3;&zSelection=DS-406779UNIT,CP_MEUR;DS-406779INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;DS-406779NA_ITEM,B1GQ;DS-406779S_ADJ,SCA;&rankName1=UNIT_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=NA-ITEM_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=S-ADJ_1_2_-1_2&rankName5=TIME_1_0_0_0&rankName6=GEO_1_2_0_1&sortC=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23.

Federal Reserve.  2021.  "Foreign Exchange Rates."  Accessed July 21, 2021.  https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g5/.

Office for National Statistics.  2021.  "Gross Domestic Product at market prices: Current price: Seasonally adjusted £m - Office for National Statistics."  Accessed July 21, 2021.  https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/timeseries/ybha/ukea.