INE today confirms or estimates economic growth at 2.3% in 2023

The National Institute of Statistics confirms or considers this Thursday growth of 2.2% year-on-year and 0.8% quarterly in the fourth quarter of 2023, as well as GDP growth of 2.3% for the full year.

A quick assessment released on January 30 by the statistics body showed that gross domestic product (GDP) growth exceeded expectations in the final period of the year.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Portugal’s economy grew by 2.2% year on year and by 0.8% compared to the third quarter, avoiding a technical recession (two consecutive quarters of contraction) after GDP contracted by 0.2% in the penultimate quarter. quarter of the year.

For the year as a whole, GDP grew 2.3%, a slowdown from 6.8% growth in 2022, the highest since 1987.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), domestic demand made a “positive contribution to the annual change in GDP, although less than that observed in the previous year, with private consumption and investment slowing.”

The contribution of net external demand was also positive in 2023, “but less intense than in 2022, with exports and imports of goods and services slowing significantly.”

In the 2024 government budget proposal (OE2024), the Ministry of Finance indicated Portugal’s economy will grow by 2.2% in 2023, as did the Public Finance Council, the European Commission and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast the rate at 2.3%, and the Bank of Portugal (BdP) at 2.1%.

INE will also publish a brief estimate of February inflation today.

Portugal’s annual inflation rate was 2.3% in January, up 0.9 percentage points from December, driven by energy prices and the end of zero VAT.

Excluding food and energy products, inflation in January was 2.4% (2.6% in December).