Live data · Europe
The recession map of Europe
Every European economy coloured by phase from the year-on-year real GDP growth rate (Eurostat). Drag the timeline or press play — and watch the 2009 and 2020 recessions wash the continent red.
Live GDP · Europe
The recession map of Europe
Every European economy coloured by phase, from the year-on-year real GDP growth rate (Eurostat). Sorted from weakest to strongest — you see at a glance who is shrinking right now.
2of 33 European economies in recession
EU:+1.4%Point to a country for detail.
The two great waves
Global crisis · 2009-Q1
33/ 36
COVID-19 · 2020-Q2
35/ 36
Now · 2026-Q2
2/ 33
At the trough of the global crisis almost all of Europe was in recession; during COVID, practically everyone. Today a contraction is rare. That is what makes the map legible: the same measure applied identically to all shows when the cycle is synchronised (crises move together) and when it diverges.
How it is computed
For each country we take year-on-year real GDP growth (versus the same quarter a year earlier, seasonally adjusted). Below 0% is red (recession), 0–1.5% amber (stagnation), above 1.5% green (growth). The colour scale is fixed so one colour means the same thing in every quarter.
The source is Eurostat (namq_10_gdp) — one keyless request covers the EU27, the euro area, EFTA and candidate countries. The data is a bundled snapshot refreshed with “npm run refresh:macro”; the site makes no live requests.
A simple rule, not official dating
Our rule is deliberately simple and transparent. It is not the official business-cycle chronology. For the euro area the official starts and ends of recessions are set by a CEPR committee (the euro-area counterpart of the US NBER), which looks at a broader set of indicators, not GDP alone.
Caveats
- Ireland: GDP is distorted by multinationals (intellectual property, aircraft leasing) — it jumps sharply in both directions. The modified GNI* measure is more faithful there, but is not quarterly.
- The year-on-year rate smooths single quarters but can lag sharp, short shocks; cross-check other sources at turning points.
- Historical and current statistics — not a forecast and not investment advice.
Source: Eurostat namq_10_gdp · updated 2026-09-29