Monitly News
Euro areaEconomy & finance
Foreign direct investment weakened in Belgium, Latvia and Estonia in 2025, while Cyprus rebounded. Net withdrawals reached 3.7% of GDP in Belgium; Cyprus drew inflows of 54.2%.
Lithuania
Lithuania's population rose to 2.89 million in 2024, its highest since 2015. But the annual gain slowed to 16,690 people, less than half the previous year's increase.
Burundi
Prices of goods and services produced in Burundi rose 37.8% in 2025, the fastest increase since 2005. That was a sharp acceleration from 21.1% in 2024.
World
Foreign debt and financing trends were mixed: Nicaragua’s overdue debt reached US$1.31 billion in Q2 2026, while Greece’s net borrowing fell 38% in 2025.
World
Public debt pressures grew in Q2 2026. France's government debt reached 127.6% of GDP, while Chile's debt due within a year rose to 6.58% of GDP.
Latvia
Latvia's higher-education enrolment rose 1% to 74,790 in 2025, ending 11 years of decline. Universities and colleges had 773 more students than in 2024.
Ireland
Nearly three-quarters of Ireland's 15- to 24-year-olds were in education in 2025. Participation rose to 73.9%, from 72% in 2024, reaching its highest level since 2016.
Latvia
Latvia had 90,319 children in early education in 2025, down 4.6% in a year. Enrolment fell for a fourth year and was almost 10% below its 2021 peak.
Cyprus
Cyprus averaged 16.8 first-time asylum seekers a month per 100,000 residents in the year to August, the lowest since August 2015.
World
Injury crashes rose in several European countries in 2025, including a 2.3% increase in Germany, while South Korea saw a 1.3% fall. Road deaths declined in Hungary and Serbia.
World
Rail passenger travel rose 25.9% in Portugal but fell 25.5% in New Zealand in 2025. Rail freight activity also declined in Ireland and Hungary.
Europe
The EU generated 4,872 kg of waste per person in 2024. From 2022 to 2024, waste per person fell by 38% in Estonia but rose by 6.1% in Italy.
Germany
Germany's maritime container traffic rose 12.4% in 2025 to 14.95 million standard container units, its highest since 2019. The increase extends the recovery from a slump in 2023.
Finland
Hours worked in Finland fell 0.9% in the third quarter to their lowest since early 2021. The total was 2.7% below a year earlier, pointing to a weakening jobs market.
Costa Rica
Employment in farming, forestry and fishing fell by about 7,200 to 196,600 in 2025, Costa Rica's lowest since 2013. The sector employed 21% fewer people than at its 2018 peak.
Bulgaria
Employment in Bulgaria rose by 76,860 to 3.60 million in 2025, the highest since 2010. The increase was more than twice the previous year's gain, even as the population continued to shrink.
Iceland
Average wages in Iceland rose 1.7% after inflation in 2024 to their highest ever, OECD figures show. Annual pay was equivalent to $79,051 after adjusting for differences in purchasing power.
Poland
Cancer killed 101,261 people in Poland in 2025, up 1.6% from 2024 and the most since 2018. The increase came as the overall death rate edged down.
Cambodia
Cambodia's BCG vaccination coverage fell to 86% in 2025 from 90% in 2024, the lowest since 2003. A larger share of children is missing a vaccine that protects against severe tuberculosis.
Timor-Leste
Only 27% of one-year-olds in Timor-Leste completed rotavirus vaccination in 2025, down from 76% in 2024. The sharp fall leaves more children without the full vaccine course against severe diarrhoea.
Mali
Mali had an estimated 95,000 people living with HIV in 2025, up from 94,000 in 2024. Treatment coverage rose from 81% to 84%, although an estimated 16% still went without antiretroviral therapy.
Europe
Research spending fell to 0.46% of GDP in Malta and 2.16% in Iceland in 2025. Separately, government research budgets rose in some EU countries but fell in others after inflation.
Brazil
Brazil's telecom revenue fell 26.2% in 2025 to US$39.8 billion in purchasing-power-adjusted terms, according to the OECD—a sharp downturn after little change in 2024.
Brazil
Home computer access fell to 31.7% of Brazilian households in 2025, from 33.8% in 2024, OECD figures show. That compares with 50.5% in 2014.
EU
Home prices rose in several EU countries in Q2 2026. Slovakia's prices climbed 9.2% after inflation over the year, while Germany's fell 1.3% after inflation over the quarter.
Finland
Finland's construction confidence jumped 10.8 points to -5.1 in July 2026, its strongest since March 2022. It moved above the EU average of -6.6 for the first time since February 2022.
France
France's construction confidence fell to -19.3 points in July 2026, its lowest since May 2020 and well below the EU's -6.6. Construction output also fell 2.9% in June from May.
Budapest
Budapest’s annual house-price index increased 24.6% in 2025 to the highest reading in its 2001–2025 history. The index now stands 323.2% above its 2015 benchmark.
Paraguay
New data from WHO shows a steep decrease in life expectancy at birth for both sexes in Paraguay. The fall breaks a long period of relative stability and pushes the indicator to its lowest level in more than two decades.
Chile
New data from OECD shows a sharp increase in business enterprise expenditure on R&D in Chile. The rise breaks above long‑run levels and sets a new record high in the series.
Luxembourg
New data from Eurostat shows a sharp increase in economic sentiment and confidence indicators in Luxembourg, with the index rising in November 2025. The move interrupts recent weaker readings and pushes confidence back above its long‑run average.
Lithuania
New data from OECD shows a sharp increase in government budget allocations for R&D in Lithuania in 2024. The jump breaks well above recent averages and sets a new record high in the long-running series.
Sweden