The euro area's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.2% between July and September compared to the previous three months, while in Germany the growth was 1.8%.
In both cases, it is one tenth above the growth registered in the second quarter of the year.

Compared to the third quarter of 2020, the increase in GDP was 3.7% in the area of ​​the single currency and 3.9% in the whole of the Twenty-seven, according to the preliminary estimate published this Friday (29.10.2021 ) by the Community Statistical Office Eurostat.

In the second quarter of this year, year-on-year growth had been 14.2% and 13.7%, due to the comparative effect with the same period of 2020, in which there had been record falls in GDP due to confinement to contain the pandemic.

Among the eleven countries for which Eurostat has data, the main quarterly increase in GDP between July and September was recorded in Austria (3.3%), followed by France (3%) and Portugal (2.9%), while that the lowest rate was observed in Latvia (0.3%) and in Lithuania the GDP remained stable.

Regarding the large economies of the euro area, GDP growth in the third quarter accelerated in Spain, where the rate rose 2% compared to 1.1% in the previous quarter, as well as in France, where it rose by 3% compared to 1.3% in the previous three months.
In both cases, this is the highest rise recorded in half a century, without taking into account the third quarter of 2020, when the increase was 16.8% and 18.5%, respectively, due to the rebound effect after confinement.

On the contrary, growth slightly lost steam in Germany, where GDP rose 1.8%, and in Italy, which saw an increase of 2.6%, in both cases one tenth below the rates registered in the second trimester.

The quarterly increase in GDP in both the EU and the euro area was higher than that registered in the United States (0.5%) and in China (0.2%) between July and September.

Eurostat recalled that this first estimate is based on incomplete data, so it could be revised. The second projection will be released on November 16, together with preliminary data on the evolution of employment in the EU and the euro area.