The European Union’s economy grew slightly, with Slovakia having the weakest year-on-year growth
According to seasonally adjusted data, euro area gross domestic product grew by 5.1 percent year on year in the first quarter, and rose by 5.2 percent across the European Union (EU).
Quarter-on-quarter, the euro area economy grew by 0.3 percent in January and March, and the EU-wide economy grew by 0.4 percent. This follows from a preliminary estimate reported by Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office.
The Slovak economy grew by 0.4 percent quarter on quarter, as did the EU as a whole. However, the Slovak economy strengthened by only three percent year-on-year. Within the countries for which Eurostat data were available, this was the weakest year-on-year growth. Slovakia ranked worst in the year-on-year growth of the economy together with Sweden, whose economy also grew by only three percent year-on-year. The third weakest growth was in Germany (3.7%). The strongest year-on-year growth was recorded in Portugal (11.9%), Poland (9.1%) and Austria (8.7%).
In January, the economies of Romania (5.2%), Portugal (2.6%), Austria (2.5%) and Poland (2.4%) strengthened the most in January. Sweden (-0.4%), Italy (-0.2%) and Denmark (-0.1%) recorded a decline compared to the previous economy in the first quarter.