site.btaBulgaria Posts EU's Second-Highest Annual Economic Growth in Q1 of 2026

Bulgaria recorded the second-highest annual economic growth rate in the European Union in the first quarter of 2026, according to the latest data released by Eurostat on Wednesday.

Economic growth across both the European Union and the euro area slowed on an annual basis in the January-March period.

The EU economy expanded by 1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, down from 1.4% in the final quarter of 2025. In the euro area, which now includes Bulgaria following its accession on January 1, 2026, annual GDP growth slowed to 0.8% from 1.3% in the previous quarter.

Compared with the preceding quarter, GDP in the EU grew by 0.2% in the first quarter, unchanged from the October-December 2025 period. Quarterly growth in the euro area slowed to 0.1% from 0.2%.

Bulgaria's gross domestic product increased by 2.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026 and by 0.7% compared with the previous quarter, matching the seasonally adjusted data released earlier on Wednesday by the National Statistical Institute. Bulgaria's economy had expanded at the same quarterly and annual rates in the last quarter of 2025.

According to Eurostat data, only Cyprus recorded stronger annual GDP growth in the first quarter, at 3%. Spain ranked third with growth of 2.7%.

The only EU Member States to report annual economic contractions in the January-March period were Ireland, where GDP fell by 6.3%, and Romania, with a decline of 1.5%.