Portugal records biggest year-on-year GDP increase in Eurozone in third quarter of 2023

PORTUGAL recorded the biggest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increase in the Eurozone in the third quarter on 2023 compared to last year.

According to data released this Tuesday, October 31, by Eurostat, in the third quarter of 2023, seasonally adjusted GDP decreased by 0.1 per cent in the Eurozone and increased by 0.1 per cent in the EU, compared with the same quarter in 2022.

Previously, in the second quarter of 2023, GDP had grown by 0.2 per cent in the single currency area and had remained stable in the EU, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office.

Euro area #GDP -0.1% in Q3 2023, +0.1% compared with Q3 2022: preliminary flash estimate from #Eurostat https://t.co/0ZQdY6hi6h pic.twitter.com/ZablZHVTwS

— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) October 31, 2023

Which countries showed the highest year-on-year increase in GDP?

Among the Member States for which data were available for the third quarter of 2023, Portugal recorded the largest year-on-year GDP increase.

The country showed a rise of 1.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2022, followed by Spain at 1.8 per cent and Belgium with an increase of 1.5 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, the biggest annual drops were recorded in Ireland where the DGP fell by 4.7 per cent, Estonia was down by 2.5 per cent, while Austria and Sweden were both down by 1.2 per cent.

In quarterly terms, Latvia recorded the biggest increase compared to the previous quarter, with a rise of 0.6 per cent. Belgium followed, going up by 0.5 per cent, and Spain with 0.3 per cent. The biggest decreases were recorded in Ireland where it dropped by 1.8 per cent, Austria by 0.6 per cent and the Czech Republic by 0.3 per cent.

Released in mid-September, the European Commission’s summer macroeconomic forecasts announced that the ‘very weak’ economic activity of recent months in the Eurozone and the EU – which is expected to continue – led to a downward revision of projections for economic growth in 2024, to 1.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.