Ireland was the only EU economy to contract in the fourth quarter of 2025, shrinking 0.6% from the previous quarter, according to Eurostat.
The pace of quarterly contraction in the Irish economy accelerated from Q3, when it declined 0.3% following growth of 7.4% and 0.3% in the first two quarters of the year as businesses frontloaded US exports to get ahead of potential tariffs.
On an annual basis, the Irish economy expanded 6.7% in Q4, the pace of growth slowed, continuing to slow after growth of 18.3%, 18.1% and 10.9% was recorded in the first three quarters of the year.
Overall, the eurozone economy is estimated to have grown 1.5% last year while the wider EU economy’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.6%.
Preliminary flash estimates published by the EU statistical office show seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.3% in both the euro area and the EU in the final quarter of 2025 compared to 0.3% and 0.4% in Q3, respectively.
Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 1.3% in the euro area and by 1.4% in the EU in the fourth quarter after rising 1.4% in the eurozone and 1.6% in the EU in the previous quarter.
Among the member states for which data are available for the fourth quarter of 2025, Lithuania (+1.7%) recorded the highest increase compared to the previous quarter, followed by Spain and Portugal (both +0.8%).
14 eurozone economies expanded year-on-year in 2025.
The year-on-year growth rate was positive for 14 countries and stable for one country, Finland. Ireland led the way, its 6.7% rate of growth far outpacing Spain (+2.6%), Lithuania (+2.5%) and Czechia (+2.4%).
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