Cyprus recorded one of the stronger rates of quarterly economic growth in the EU in the second quarter of 2026, with GDP expanding by 0.8 per cent, according to figures released by Eurostat.

The Cypriot economy accelerated from 0.5 per cent growth in the first quarter, while GDP was 3.3 per cent higher than a year earlier in the second quarter, up from annual growth of 3.0 per cent in the first quarter.

The figures placed Cyprus ahead of the euro area and EU averages on both quarterly and annual measures.

Across the euro area, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.6 per cent between the first and second quarters, while EU GDP rose by 0.7 per cent.

On an annual basis, euro area GDP increased by 1.2 per cent and EU GDP by 1.4 per cent in the second quarter, compared with annual growth of 0.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively in the previous quarter.

Among EU member states, Ireland recorded by far the strongest quarterly expansion, with GDP rising by 10.2 per cent, followed by Slovenia at 1.8 per cent and Lithuania at 1.7 per cent.

Austria was the only member state to record a contraction, with GDP falling by 0.1 per cent.

The latest figures showed that Cyprus’ growth was also accompanied by a marked improvement in employment.

Employment in Cyprus increased by 0.5 per cent during the second quarter, compared with no growth in the first quarter.

On an annual basis, employment in Cyprus was 1.6 per cent higher than in the second quarter of 2025, although this represented a slowdown from the 2.0 per cent annual increase recorded in the first quarter.

Across the EU, the number of employed people rose by 0.1 per cent during the second quarter, matching the increase recorded in the euro area.

There were 221.4 million people employed across the EU during the quarter, including 176.4 million in the euro area.

Portugal recorded the strongest quarterly employment growth at 1.0 per cent, followed by the Czech Republic and Malta at 0.9 per cent each.

Finland recorded the sharpest decline in employment, at 0.8 per cent, followed by Greece at 0.4 per cent.

Hours worked increased by 0.1 per cent in both the EU and euro area during the second quarter.

Compared with the same period a year earlier, hours worked increased by 0.8 per cent in the EU and 0.7 per cent in the euro area.

The broader euro area recovery was supported by several components of demand.

Household consumption contributed 0.2 percentage points to quarterly GDP growth in both the euro area and EU, while government consumption made a negligible contribution.

Gross fixed capital formation also made a negligible contribution in the euro area but added 0.1 percentage points to EU growth.

Changes in inventories acted as a drag, reducing growth by 0.5 percentage points in both areas.

Exports minus imports provided the strongest positive contribution, adding 0.9 percentage points to euro area growth and 0.8 percentage points to EU growth.

For comparison, US GDP increased by 0.4 per cent during the second quarter, following growth of 0.5 per cent in the first quarter.

US GDP was 2.1 per cent higher than a year earlier, compared with annual growth of 2.7 per cent in the first quarter.

Eurostat said the employment figures provided a picture of labour input consistent with the output and income measures used in national accounts.