Berlin - Europe climbed out of recession in the third quarter, data released Friday showed as a recovery from its steepest downturn in a generation slowly took shape.

The 16-member eurozone chalked up a 0.4-per-cent growth rate in the three months to the end of the September, the European Union's (EU) statistics office said after the currency narrowly missed out on emerging from recession during the second quarter.

The broader-based 27-member EU grew by a more meagre 0.2 per cent.

The rebound in the eurozone brought to an end five quarters of contraction in the region's economy.

Analysts had predicted the economy forged around nations sharing the euro currency would expand by 0.6 per cent during the second quarter.

Two of the world's other leading economies, Japan and the US, have already returned to a recovery path.

Spearheading the pickup in the eurozone's economy was a solid performance by the region's biggest economy, Germany, which turned in a 0.7-per-cent growth rate in the third quarter. (dpa)