Poland is the EU champion. We have the highest economic growth. Germany is far, far behind

The European Union’s GDP grew by 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter and 0.8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter. Against this backdrop, Poland is doing exceptionally well. Our economy increased in the period under review by 1.5 percent quarterly and 4 percent year-on-year – the European Union’s statistical office reported.

Eurostat: Poland’s GDP is growing the fastest in the EU

AND it was the biggest increase (in both shots) from all EU countries. “We got it!” – wrote Macronext analysts on X.

Here, two things need to be taken into account. First, Eurostat, when comparing countries, takes into account seasonally adjusted data, a slightly different measure, hence the difference is visible in the annual approach. Second, Malta has not yet sent its data, which may record growth similar to ours, and may possibly surpass us. But for now, we are in first place.

German Troubles

When it comes to the large EU economies, our growth looks particularly strong compared to Germany, which is not growing at all, but is even declining slightly. The country’s GDP fell by 0.1 percent both quarterly and year-on-year. Not much, but still. A quarter earlier, Germany recorded a slight increase, in the last three months of 2023 a small decline, before that a slight increase again. It looks quite flat and at a low level. The prospects for the whole of this year are not optimistic, experts expect GDP growth at 0.1%. This is de facto stagnation.

The condition of Germany is affecting the economies – especially industry – of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe – the Czech Republic and Slovakia – as noted in a separate report. These countries actually rely quite heavily on industries related to the German automotive industry – not only automotive, but also machinery and metallurgy.

France’s GDP grew by 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter and 1.1 percent year-on-year, Italy’s by 0.2 and 0.9 percent, respectively, Spain’s by 0.8 and 2.9 percent. As for our closer neighbors, the Czech Republic grew by 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter and 0.4 percent year-on-year, Slovakia by 0.4 and 2 percent, respectively, Lithuania by 0.9 and 1.4 percent, and Hungary recorded a quarterly decline of 0.2 percent.

Several countries have not yet provided Eurostat with GDP data for the second quarter. Apart from the aforementioned Malta, these include Denmark, Croatia and Greece. And finally, on the sidelines, the following chart from Eurostat’s entry on the X “pulse” of the EU economy, the eurozone itself and the US, for comparison, looks interesting. The fluctuation, which looks like a worrying ECG reading, is a memento of the pandemic – first, GDP fell sharply, only to rebound “for a moment” later.