Czech Second Quarter GDP Lags Behind EU Average

The Czech Republic had a below-average year-on-year increase in gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter overall compared to EU countries. In the EU countries, it grew by 1.9 percent quarter on quarter and by 13.2 percent year on year, while in the Czech Republic the economy grew by 8.2 percent year on year and by one percent quarter on quarter. Despite the current strong growth, however, the level of GDP in most EU countries has so far lagged behind the pre-crisis second quarter of 2019, the Czech Statistical Office (CSO) said in an analysis of economic development published today .

According to the analysis, year-on-year economic growth was recorded in all EU countries. “A look at the pre-crisis period, however, shows that real GDP in the EU lags behind the level of 2019 by 2.3 percent, while Spain (minus 6.1 percent) and Italy (minus four percent) lagged the most behind the second quarter of 2019. “However, the Czechia was also at the top of this comparison (-3.7 percent) and France (-3.4 percent), Germany (-2.9 percent) and Austria (-2.7 percent) also fell above average compared to the second quarter of 2019. percent), often countries with a strong automotive industry, “said the CZSO. Among the countries that manage to return to pre-crisis levels were, according to the analysis, the Baltic states, Ireland, Romania, Slovenia, Poland, Hungary, Denmark and Sweden.

Compared with the previous quarter, the EU economy grew quarter-on-quarter in Malta and Croatia. By contrast, Portugal (4.9 percent), Latvia (4.4 percent) and Estonia (4.3 percent) saw the largest growth. “However, the development of neighboring Austria was also favorable; the Polish and Slovak economies also improved above average,” the statistics said. According to them, the Czech Republic and the large economies of France (1.1 percent) and Germany (1.6 percent) were among the countries with lower quarter-on-quarter growth.