Nicosia: Cyprus recorded the third-highest annual GDP growth in the EU in the second quarter of 2025, with a 3.3% increase, according to data published by Eurostat. This growth places Cyprus behind Ireland, which saw an 18% increase, and Bulgaria, which experienced a 3.4% rise.
According to Cyprus News Agency, the GDP in Cyprus also saw a 0.5% increase compared to the previous quarter. During the same period, the euro area reported a 1.5% rise in seasonally adjusted GDP, while the EU saw an increase of 1.6% compared to the second quarter of 2024. In contrast, the euro area and the EU had recorded a GDP increase of 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively, compared with the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2025, GDP growth in the euro area was 0.6%, with the EU experiencing a 0.5% increase.
In terms of annual GDP comparison, Luxembourg was the only country in the EU to experience a decrease, with a -0.2% change. In quarterly comparisons, Finland, Germany, and Italy reported GDP decreases of 0.4%, 0.3%, and 0.1%, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2025.
Simultaneously, Cyprus achieved the fifth-highest employment growth in the EU, with a 1.8% rise in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, and the fourth-highest increase of 0.5% compared to the first quarter of 2025.
Eurostat data shows that, based on seasonally adjusted figures, 219.9 million people were employed in the EU in the second quarter of 2025, with 171.6 million in the euro area. This data allows for an estimation of labor productivity, revealing a productivity increase of 0.8% per person in the euro area and 1.2% in the EU compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
When considering hours worked, productivity compared to the same quarter of the previous year increased by 1.1% in the euro area and 1.5% in the EU. Cyprus saw a GDP growth of 2.2% based on hours worked compared to the previous year, ranking third in the EU behind Malta and Luxembourg, while it experienced a 0.2% decrease compared to the first quarter.