Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 0.3% in Quarter 3 (Q3) 2025 (See Editor’s Note below).
Multinational-dominated sectors expanded by 0.2% in Q3 2025 while Domestic sectors contracted by 0.1%.
Total Exports increased by 2.1% in Q3 2025 (+€4.4 billion), while total Imports rose by 10.4% (+€14.7 billion).
Modified Domestic Demand (MDD), a broad measure of underlying domestic activity that covers personal, government, and investment spending, grew by 2.3% in Q3 2025.
Personal spending on goods and services, a key measure of domestic economic activity, was up by 0.1% in Q3 2025.
The Balance of Payments Current Account recorded a surplus of €13.9 billion in transactions with the rest of the world in Q3 2025.
The updated estimated GDP figure for Q3 2025 is -0.3%. This compares with a Preliminary GDP estimate for Q3 2025 of -0.1% published on 28 October 2025. Note that the updated GDP estimate for Q3 2025 of -0.3% is based on both Expenditure and Output data, while the Preliminary estimate was based predominantly on economic Output data.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (04 December 2025) published Quarterly National Accounts and International Accounts results for Quarter 3 (Q3) 2025, following on from the QNA Q3 2025 Provisional issued on 28 October 2025 (See Editor’s Note below).
Summary Results
Assistant Director General with responsibility for National Accounts & Price Statistics, Chris Sibley, said:
“In today’s release, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to have fallen by 0.3% in July, August, and September (Q3) 2025.
The globalised Industry sector contracted by 0.7% in Q3 2025 when compared with Q2 2025 while the Information & Communication sector posted an increase of 0.6% over the same period. Overall, the multinational-dominated sector rose by 0.2% in the quarter.
There was a mixed picture for the domestic economy in Q3 2025 with Modified Domestic Demand (MDD) growing by 2.3% in the quarter, driven by capital formation. However, personal spending increased by a more modest 0.1% while real wages declined by 0.1%.”
Domestic Economy
Looking at the GDP results in more detail, National Accounts Statistician Justin Flannery said:
“Overall, the sectors focused on the domestic market contracted 0.1% in Q3 2025. Strong growth was seen in Financial & Insurance Activities which expanded by 7.8%. Robust growth was also posted in the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing and the Arts & Entertainment sectors which posted increases of 3.3% and 3.0% respectively. However, there were contractions in Construction and Public Administration, Education & Health of 3.3% and 0.8% respectively.
Expenditure in the Economy
Looking at expenditure in the economy, exports increased by 2.1% in Q3 2025 while Imports grew by 10.4% over the same period. As a result, net exports decreased by 14.6% in the quarter. Capital Investment increased by 29.4% or €8.6bn compared with Q2 2025 reflecting an increase in the value of physical changes in stocks and higher levels of investment in Intangible Assets. Personal spending on goods and services increased by 0.1% in Q3 2025, while Government spending on goods and services grew by 2.1% over the same period.
Impact of Globalisation Activities and the Indicators of Underlying Domestic Activity
Final Domestic Demand (FDD), a measure of personal, government, and investment spending, increased by 4.6% in Q3 2025. This reflects higher levels of investment in Intangible Assets compared with the previous quarter. Modified Domestic Demand, a broad measure of underlying domestic demand that excludes IPP and aircraft-related globalisation effects, increased by 2.3% in the quarter.
Compensation of Employees
Compensation of Employees (CoE), which includes wages as well other payments such as bonuses and allowances, decreased in real terms by 0.1% in Q3 2025 compared with Q2 2025.
GDP and GNP results
Overall, GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.3% in Q3 2025. Gross National Product (GNP), a measure of economic activity that excludes the profits of multinationals, increased by 0.8% in the quarter, reflecting a decrease in factor income outflows which fell by 2.8%.”