Revised data released today shows that the euro zone economy grew by 0.9% in 2024, surpassing the previous estimate of 0.7%.
The EU's official statistics agency also updated the growth figure for the fourth quarter of 2024, revising it to 0.2% from the earlier estimate of 0.1%, marking the second revision for that period.
Earlier in January, Eurostat had initially reported that the euro zone economy had stalled in the final quarter of 2024.
This revision brings a small but positive piece of news as Europe has faced near-stagnation for the past two years, primarily due to soaring energy costs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
For 2023, the euro zone recorded a growth of 0.4%.
Looking ahead, the economy faces potential challenges from US President Donald Trump's threat of imposing tariffs, although the European Union has made boosting the bloc's competitiveness a top priority.
The economic performance of the euro zone has been weighed down by the two largest economies, Germany and France. Germany experienced a contraction of 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024, while France saw a decline of 0.1% during the same period.
For the entire 27-country EU, the economy grew by 1% in 2024, up from the previously estimated 0.9%.
In terms of employment, Eurostat reported a 0.1% quarter-on-quarter increase and a 0.7% year-on-year rise in the fourth quarter of 2024. This confirmed its earlier estimate for the quarterly growth but revised the year-on-year figure upward. According to a Reuters poll, employment had been expected to increase by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter and 0.6% year-on-year.
Source: RTE