Austria: Economic growth is stable in Q1 2026
GDP growth remains at its joint-weakest rate since Q3 2024: Austria’s GDP increased 0.2% in seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms in Q1, unchanged from the prior quarter’s reading. Q4’s reading was the joint-weakest since Q3 2024.
On a year-on-year basis, economic output expanded 0.9% in Q1, following a 1.1% expansion in the previous quarter.
Readings for public spending and fixed investment improve: Compared with the prior period’s data, figures in Q1 improved for government consumption (+1.6% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis vs -0.3% in Q4) and fixed investment (0.0% vs -0.9% in Q4). In contrast, readings softened for private consumption (+0.2% vs +0.4% in Q4), exports of goods and services (-0.7% vs +0.9% in Q4) and imports of goods and services (-0.5% vs +0.9% in Q4).
Panelist insight: On the GDP growth outlook, Walter Pudschedl, senior economist at Bank Austria, commented:
“We expect stagnation in the second quarter, weighed down by the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on consumption and investment. However, the tentative recovery of the domestic economy should continue as the Middle East conflict calms down. We continue to expect GDP growth of 0.8 percent in 2026 and a slight improvement to 1.2 percent in 2027.”