Cyprus recorded the highest GDP growth in the eurozone at 3.8% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2024, significantly outpacing the bloc’s average of 0.9%, according to data released by Eurostat and Cyprus’s Statistical Service.
The growth was driven by five key sectors: hotels and restaurants, wholesale and retail trade, vehicle repair, information and communications, and construction.
Lithuania followed with 2.3% growth, while Bulgaria recorded 2.2%. Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, contracted by 0.2%.
The eurozone as a whole grew 0.4% quarter-on-quarter, up from 0.2% in Q2. The stronger-than-expected performance was partly attributed to one-off factors like the Paris Olympics in August.
Cyprus’s Central Bank forecasts 3.5% GDP growth for 2024, compared to 2.5% in 2023, with growth expected to continue at 3.1% and 3.2% in 2025 and 2026, respectively. The growth outlook is primarily supported by rising domestic demand and, to a lesser extent, external demand.
The data release comes ahead of the ECB’s December 12 interest rate meeting, amid concerns over EU growth prospects following Donald Trump’s threats of new tariffs on European manufacturers and political uncertainty in Germany.
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