Portugal's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.2% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous one, said Friday the National Statistics Institute (Ine) in a second estimate revised downwards, which however confirmed a 7.6% annual GDP drop in 2020.
Read also: Covid-19: Is the European Union preparing a vaccination passport or a health certificate?
Over the last three months of last year, the quarterly variation in GDP was estimated at + 0.4% in a previous estimate.
On a year-over-year basis, economic activity fell 6.1%, Ine said after previously reporting a 5.9% drop.
Biggest contraction in GDP since 1974
In the third quarter, GDP had grown by 13.3% over a quarter "
after the unprecedented contraction of economic activity in the second quarter (-13.9%) due to the Covid-19 pandemic
", explained the statistics office.
Over the year as a whole, the decline in GDP "
reflects the undesirable effects of the pandemic on the economy
", underlined Ine, recalling in particular "
the contraction in household consumption
" and the "
unprecedented drop in exports and tourism
”.
According to the Portuguese economic press, this is the biggest contraction of the Portuguese economy since the advent of democracy in 1974.
The INE also revised growth upwards in 2019, with GDP growth of 2.5% against a previous estimate of 2.2%.
For this year, the economy is expected to rebound 5.4% according to government estimates.
But the Ministry of Finance has already recognized that it will have to revise its forecasts downwards, estimating that the general containment imposed since mid-January to stem an explosion in cases of coronavirus will have negative effects on economic activity.
