According to an estimate published by Eurostat, in the third quarter of 2020, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 12.5% in the euro area and by 11.5% in the EU compared with the previous quarter. These were by far the sharpest increases observed since time series started in 1995, and a rebound compared with the second quarter of 2020, when GDP had decreased by 11.7% in the euro area and by 11.3% in the EU.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 4.3% in the euro area and by 4.2% in the EU in the third quarter of 2020, which represents a partial recovery after -14.7% and -13.9% respectively in the previous quarter.

During the third quarter of 2020, GDP in the United States increased by 7.4% compared with the previous quarter (after -9.0% in the second quarter of 2020). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, GDP decreased by 2.9% (after -9.0% in the previous quarter).

France (+18.7%), Spain (+16.7%) and Italy (+15.9%) recorded the sharpest increases of GDP compared to the previous quarter. These countries were also among the highest decreases in the second quarter. Greece (+2.3%), Estonia and Finland (both +3.3%) and Lithuania (+3.8%) had the lowest increases of GDP. Except for Greece, which registered a decrease of 14.1%, these other countries also had less pronounced declines during the second quarter.