Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 15.5% in real terms in the second half of 2021 compared to the previous year, the highest growth since there have been statistics available.

The numbers disclosed today in the Statistics Office’s early estimates (INE) also show that when compared to the previous quarter, Portugal grew 4.9%, more than offsetting the drop in GDP caused by the pandemic during the first quarter of the year.

Portugal has reached the highest level in GDP since the start of the pandemic, which confirms Portugal’s solid economic recovery and the outlook that with the vaccination process and the control of the pandemic, it will be possible to pass the 4% growth estimate indicated in the Stability Programme.

Way above the Euro Area average

Both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter growth are considerably above the Euro Area and EU average, signalling that the convergence process interrupted during the pandemic is now being resumed.

After a loss above average in the first quarter (-3.2% quarter-on-quarter) due to the lockdown brought on by the pandemic, in the second half, Portugal has, today, the highest growth (4.9%) among the EU countries, such as Germany (1.5%), Spain (2.8%), France (0.9%) or Italy (2.7%).