With a Gross Domestic Product of over 4.3 trillion Euros, the German economy was by far the largest in Europe in 2024. The similarly sized economies of the United Kingdom and France were the second and third largest economies in Europe during this year, followed by Italy and Spain. The smallest economy in this statistic is that of the small Balkan nation of Montenegro, which had a GDP of 7.4 billion Euros. In this year, the combined GDP of the 27 member states that compose the European Union amounted to approximately 17.95 trillion Euros. The big five Germany’s economy has consistently had the largest economy in Europe since 1980, even before the reunification of West and East Germany. The United Kingdom, by contrast, has had mixed fortunes during the same period and had a smaller economy than Italy in the late 1980s. The UK also suffered more than the other major economies during the recession of the late 2000s, meaning the French economy was the second largest on the continent for some time afterward. The Spanish economy was continually the fifth-largest in Europe in this 38-year period, and from 2004 onwards, has been worth more than one trillion Euros. The smallest GDP, the highest economic growth in Europe Despite having the smallerst GDP of Europe, Montenegro emerged as the fastest growing economy in the continent, achieving an impressive annual growth rate of 4.5 percent, surpassing Turkey's growth rate of 4 percent. Overall,this Balkan nation has shown a remarkable economic recovery since the 2010 financial crisis, with its GDP projected to grow by 28.71 percent between 2024 and 2029. Contributing to this positive trend are successful tourism seasons in recent years, along with increased private consumption and rising imports. Europe's economic stagnation Malta, Albania, Iceland, and Croatia were among the countries reporting some of the highest growth rates this year. However, Europe's overall performance reflected a general slowdown in growth compared to the trend seen in 2021, during the post-pandemic recovery. Estonia experienced the sharpest negative growth in 2023, with its economy shrinking by 2.3% compared to 2022, primarily due to the negative impact of sanctions placed on its large neighbor, Russia. Other nations, including Sweden, Germany, and Finland, also recorded slight negative growth.

Since 1980, Europe's largest economies have consistently been France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, although the former Soviet Union's economy was the largest in the 1980s, and Russia's economy has been larger than Spain's since 2010. Since Soviet dissolution, Germany has always had the largest economy in Europe, while either France or the UK has had the second largest economy depending on the year. Italy's economy was of a relatively similar size to that of the UK and France until the mid-2000s when it started to diverge, resulting in a difference of approximately 800 billion U.S dollars by 2018. Russia's economy had overtaken both Italy and Spain's in 2012, but has fallen since 2014 due to the drop in international oil prices and the economic sanctions imposed for its annexation of Crimea - economic growth is expected to be comparatively low in Russia in the coming years due to the economic fallout of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In 2025, Germany, now the world's third-largest economy, was estimated at over *** trillion U.S. dollars.

Key information about European Union Current Account Balance: % of GDP

• European Union Current Account surplus accounted for 1.6 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Jun 2025, compared with a 1.7 % surplus in the previous quarter.
• EU Current Account Balance: % of Nominal GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1999 to Jun 2025, with an average value of 0.6 %.
• The data reached an all-time high of 4.2 % in Sep 2017 and a record low of -1.8 % in Jun 2008.

CEIC calculates Current Account Balance as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly Current Account Balance and quarterly Nominal GDP. Eurostat provides Current Account Balance in EUR and Nominal GDP in EUR. European Union stands for EU27 excluding UK.


Key information about European Union Current Account Balance: % of GDP

• In the latest reports of EU, Current Account recorded a surplus of 149.6 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 11.9 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• EU Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 7.3 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 210.3 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 5,301.1 USD bn in Jun 2025.

European Union recorded a Current Account surplus of 2.50 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - European Union Current Account to GDP - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Key information about EU Current Account Balance

• European Union Current Account recorded a surplus of 149.6 USD bn in Sep 2025, compared with a surplus of 83.8 USD bn in the previous quarter.
• EU Current Account Balance: USD mn data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1999 to Sep 2025, with an averaged value of 51.2 USD bn.
• The data reached an all-time high of 161.7 USD bn in Sep 2017 and a record low of -77.5 USD bn in Jun 2008.
• CEIC converts quarterly Current Account Balance into USD. Eurostat provides Current Account Balance in EUR. Federal Reserve Board average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. European Union stands for EU27 excluding UK.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 11.9 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• EU Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 7.3 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 210.3 USD bn in Sep 2025.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 5,301.1 USD bn in Jun 2025.

This statistic shows gross domestic product (GDP) of the European Union from 2020 to 2030 in billion international dollars. In 2024, the EU's GDP amounted to about 19.41 trillion U.S. dollars. Brexit and the economy of the European Union The European Union is still recovering from the crisis in 2008, but it is by no means making an impressive comeback and 2016 has not started out on the right foot either. Total GDP of the European Union staggered in 2012 and even moreso in 2015. Recent events are also bound to reduce consumer confidence and drag down growth. The year began with the economic slowdown in China and has continued on with the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union. The long term effects this decision is expected to have have an overall negative effect on GDP growth within the European Union. However, the effects will likely hit the UK and Ireland more so. By 2030, it is expected that the GDP growth of the European Union will be negative at around minus 0.36 percent. Even considering an optimistic scenario, GDP of the UK is expected to decrease by 2.72 percent by 2030, as well - a pessimistic forecast even reducing GDP growth to a 7.7 percent decrease. Yet, it is still too early to tell how Brexit will play out in reality, but it will almost certainly impact current future projections of GDP growth in the European Union and the Euro Area.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in European Union expanded 1.60 percent in the third quarter of 2025 over the same quarter of the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - European Union GDP Annual Growth Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

As of 2025, there are **** official candidate countries for membership in the European Union, as well as Kosovo identified by the European Commission as a potential future candidate. A key element of the Copenhagen Criteria - the conditions which must be fulfilled to join the EU - is the existence of a functioning market economy in the candidate country, with the ability of the country to handle the strong competition and economic pressures which come with joining the European Single Market. While the political and administrative/institutional criteria have been considered the key stumbling block which has prevented the current candidate countries from progressing towards full membership, the current state of the economies of candidate countries is also a cause for concern. According to the most recently available data, all candidate countries have lower GDP per capita than even the poorest EU member state, Bulgaria. Ukraine, the newest candidate country, which was granted candidate status by the EU in response to Russia's invasion of the country in 2022, is the poorest candidate country, as measured by GDP per capita. This represents a serious issue, as the EU has never incorporated a country which is so far from the average economic standards of the Union. On the other hand, the chance to join the EU could provide an economic boost to Ukraine, or any other candidate country, as can be seen with the fast rising GDP per capita of countries which have joined the EU since 2004, such as Czechia, Hungary, and Poland.

EU EE: CI: sa: Major Purchase at Present data was reported at 14.000 % Point in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 17.400 % Point for May 2018. EU EE: CI: sa: Major Purchase at Present data is updated monthly, averaging 7.500 % Point from Oct 1995 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 273 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 52.700 % Point in Aug 2001 and a record low of -20.600 % Point in Nov 2011. EU EE: CI: sa: Major Purchase at Present data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Estonia – Table EE.DG ECFIN: Consumer Confidence Indicator: Seasonally Adjusted.

The real gross domestic product (GDP) of Malta is estimated to have grown by *** percent in 2023 and is projected to grow a further **** percent in 2024, which are the highest growth rates across all European countries for each year. In comparison, Estonia, Austria, Finland, and Ireland all had *************** rates in 2023.

The economy of the European Union is set to grow by *** percent in 2026, according to forecasts by the European Commission. This marks a significant slowdown compared to previous years, when the EU member states grew quickly in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. ***** is the country which is forecasted to grow the most in 2026, with an annual growth rate of **** percent. Many of Europe's largest economies, on the other hand, are set to experiencing slow growth or stagnation, with Germany, France, and Italy growing below *** percent.

This dataset provides values for GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

In 2024 the gross domestic product of the European Union amounted to approximately 17.9 trillion euros. GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced in a country within a year. It is an important indicator of the economic strength of a country. The financial crisis and its aftermath The European Union is a union made up of 27 states located within and around Europe, including several of the world’s largest economies. Since its inception in 1993, the European Union has displayed the benefits of uniting several countries together, however have also showed possible consequences. The majority of European countries felt the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis and afterwards the Eurozone crisis, which has had a severe and continuous effect on the general European economy. Additionally, due to the close association between all the countries, several banks around different European countries were forced to shut down. A generally lower standard of life in the EU, particularly around 2009 during the prime of both economical disasters, led to doubt and uncertainty about the future of many European families and consumers. However, as the economic situation all around the world slowly improved, so did the outlook on the future for most consumers. Struggles around Europe resulted in a larger need to stimulate the economy, which was only possible by borrowing and spending more money. As a result, national debt soared. It was also necessary for more economically successful countries to help finance countries that were deep in the crisis, such as Greece.

The fastest growing economy in Europe in 2024 was Malta. The small Mediterranean country's gross domestic product grew at five percent in 2024, beating out Montenegro which had a growth rate of almost four percent and the Russian Federation which had a rate of 3.6 percent in the same year. Estonia was the country with the largest negative growth in 2024, as the Baltic country's economy shrank by 0.88 percent compared with 2023, largely as a result of the country's exposure to the economic effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent economic sanctions placed on Russia. Germany, Europe's largest economy, experience economic stagnation with a growth of 0.1 percent. Overall, the EU (which contains 27 European countries) registered a growth rate of one percent and the Eurozone (which contains 20) grew by 0.8 percent.

EU EE: CI: sa: Saving at Present data was reported at -15.800 % Point in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of -11.600 % Point for May 2018. EU EE: CI: sa: Saving at Present data is updated monthly, averaging -24.900 % Point from Oct 1992 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 309 observations. The data reached an all-time high of -2.000 % Point in Feb 2007 and a record low of -58.300 % Point in Sep 1996. EU EE: CI: sa: Saving at Present data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Estonia – Table EE.DG ECFIN: Consumer Confidence Indicator: Seasonally Adjusted.

In 2023, the gross domestic product in the European Union grew by 0.8 percent, as economic stagnation and high inflation caused by the Russia-Ukraine war impacted European economies. The European Commission forecasts that the European economy will have grown by 0.9 percent in 2024, continuing the trend registered in the previous year. This represents slow economic growth after the post-pandemic resurgence, yet avoids the recession many commentators warned the EU might slip into. Growth is forecast to increase again in 2025, climbing to 1.5 percent—a figure considered low by historical EU standards, excluding periods of economic crisis.

Graph and download economic data for Total Current Account Balance for the OECD Europe (DISCONTINUED) (BPBLTT01OEQ637S) from Q1 2000 to Q4 2013 about OECD Europe, current account, BOP, and Europe.

Graph and download economic data for Business Tendency Surveys: Rate of Capacity Utilisation: Economic Activity: Manufacturing: Current for Euro Area (19 Countries) (BSCURT02EZQ160S) from Q1 1985 to Q4 2025 about business sentiment, capacity, Euro Area, Europe, business, manufacturing, and rate.

Graph and download economic data for Current Account Balance: Total Services for the OECD Europe (DISCONTINUED) (BPBLSE01OEQ637S) from Q1 1996 to Q4 2013 about OECD Europe, current account, BOP, Europe, and services.

The average for 2024 based on 42 countries was 678.01 billion U.S. dollars. The highest value was in Germany: 4659.93 billion U.S. dollars and the lowest value was in Andorra: 4.04 billion U.S. dollars. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.