As compared with the respective quarter of the previous year the gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by 2.4 percent in the Eurozone and by 2.6 percent in the Europe of the 25 in the second quarter of 2006. Thus, compared with the first quarter in 2006 the GDP has increased by 0.9 percent in the Eurozone and the EU25. In Germany the GDP has grown from 1.7 to 2.4 percent in the second quarter which represents the average increase in the Eurozone. These are the findings of a rapid estimation by Eurostat, which is the Statistical Office for the EU.
In the first quarter of 2006 the growth rate had been 0.6 percent in the Eurozone and 0.7 percent in the EU25. In the USA the GDP has grown by 0.6 percent over the second quarter after a growth of 1.4 percent in the first quarter. Compared with the second quarter in 2005, the GDP has grown in the US by 3.5 percent in the second quarter after 3.7 percent in the first quarter of 2006, whereas these figures were 2.2 and 3.4 percent respectively in Japan. More information and a table listing the figures for the individual countries are available on the Internet. 