Euro Area GDP And EU27 GDP Up By 0.2%
GDP increased by 0.2% in both the euro area (EA17) and the EU27 during the second quarter of 2011, compared with the previous quarter, according to second estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the first quarter of 2011, growth rates were +0.8% in the euro area and +0.7% in the EU27.
Compared with the second quarter of 2010, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 1.6% in the euro area and by 1.7% in the EU27, after +2.4% in both zones in the previous quarter.
Variation in components of GDP
During the second quarter of 2011, household2 final consumption expenditure decreased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.1% in the EU27 (after +0.2% and 0.0% respectively in the previous quarter). Gross fixed capital formation increased by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU27 (after +1.8% and +1.2%). Exports grew by 1.0% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU27 (after +2.0% and +2.2%). Imports rose by 0.5% in the euro area and by 0.4% in the EU27 (after +1.5% and +1.4%).
US GDP increased while Japanese GDP decreased
In the United States GDP increased by 0.2% during the second quarter of 2011, after +0.1% in the first quarter of 2011. In Japan GDP fell by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2011, after -0.9% in the previous quarter.
Compared with the second quarter of 2010, GDP grew by 1.5% in the United States (after +2.2% in the previous quarter), and decreased by 0.9% in Japan (after -0.7%).
The euro area (EA17) includes: Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.
The EU27 includes Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK).
European quarterly national accounts are compiled in accordance with the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA95). The second estimates of second quarter of 2011 GDP growth presented in this release are based on Member States’ data as available, covering 98% of euro area GDP (98% of EU27 GDP). These data are seasonally adjusted (and in most cases also corrected for working days) according to national adjustment procedures. Seasonally adjusted European aggregates are calculated from seasonally adjusted Member States’ data (indirect seasonal adjustment).
A flash estimation of GDP growth was published in News Release 118/2011 issued on 16 August 2011. This was based on a more limited data set than the one used for the present News Release and, additionally, on flash estimates for some Member States, which have now been revised. The published GDP growth rates for the second quarter of 2011 compared with the previous quarter which had been estimated at +0.2% for both the euro area and the EU27 remain unchanged in the present release. Compared with the second quarter of 2010, GDP growth that had been estimated at +1.7% for both the euro area and the EU27 is revised down to +1.6% for the euro area and remains unchanged for the EU27.
With the second estimates, euro area and EU27 figures are subject to revision for all quarters for variables in this release. Other variables will be updated with the first release of quarterly employment, scheduled for 15 September 2011. Figures presented in this release may be further revised with the third estimate, scheduled for 5 October 2011. As already announced, this third estimate will only be updated in the Eurostat database and will incorporate additional country data. European legislation requires all EU Member States to send quarterly national accounts (main aggregates) within 70 days after the end of the quarter at the latest, which is between Eurostat’s second and third quarterly releases.