Industrial production in the European Union rebounded in 2025, with the value of sold production increasing by 2.9% in real terms compared with the previous year, according to the latest figures released by Eurostat.
The increase was the first recorded since 2022, following two consecutive years of decline. EU industrial production fell by 1.5% in 2023 and by another 1.9% in 2024 before returning to growth last year.
In nominal terms, the value of industrial production sold across the EU increased from €5.87 trillion in 2024 to €6.09 trillion in 2025, an increase of approximately 3.8%. The lower 2.9% figure adjusts the value of production for inflation using 2021 prices.
Food production recorded the strongest increase among the EU’s five largest manufacturing sectors, rising by 3.8% in real terms compared with 2024. Machinery and equipment production increased by 3.3%, while motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers increased by only 0.6%. Production of chemicals and fabricated metal products declined by 1.4% in both sectors.
The figures mark a reversal of the industrial decline experienced in Europe during the previous two years, although the recovery remains relatively modest compared with the substantial increases recorded immediately after the Covid pandemic.
Malta is exempt from Eurostat’s PRODCOM data collection, together with Cyprus and Luxembourg, meaning that no directly comparable Maltese figure for the value of sold industrial production is included in the latest Eurostat release. Malta’s industrial performance can instead be followed through the National Statistics Office’s Index of Industrial Production.
NSO figures show that Maltese industrial production performed relatively strongly during parts of the first half and summer of 2025, but the trend reversed sharply towards the end of the year. Industrial production was down 1.3% year-on-year in September, 1.0% in October, 8.2% in November and 6.0% in December.
In December alone, manufacturing output declined by 7.0% compared with December 2024, with production of computer, electronic and optical products and motor vehicles falling by as much as 20%. Intermediate-goods production declined by 8.8%, while consumer-goods production fell by 6.9%.
The weakness was also evident in industrial turnover. According to the NSO’s short-term industrial indicators, working-day-adjusted industrial turnover during the fourth quarter of 2025 fell by 1.8% compared with the same quarter in 2024, while seasonally adjusted turnover was down slightly by 0.1% compared with the preceding quarter. Intermediate-goods turnover registered the steepest annual decline at 14.4%. Maltese industrial production had continued to decline in December 2025, following a deterioration that had become evident during the final months of the year.
The weakness has continued intermittently into 2026. Malta’s industrial output initially rebounded in January, but subsequently returned to an uneven trend. The latest NSO figures show that production declined by 1.5% year-on-year in June 2026 and by 0.6% compared with May. Manufacturing output was also down by 1.4% compared with June last year. Malta’s industrial production remained below the wider EU trend, with the EU recording modest industrial growth in June while Maltese output contracted.
Newsroom
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