Portugal records the highest economic growth in decades

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew, in real terms, by 15.5% in the second quarter of 2021 year-on-year, the highest growth in the available quarterly series.

The data released today in the quick estimate of the National Institute of Statistics (INE) also reveal, that compared to the previous quarter, Portugal showed a growth of 4.9%, more than offsetting the fall in GDP caused by the pandemic in the first quarter of the year.

Portugal reaches the highest level of GDP since the beginning of the pandemic, which confirms the strong economic recovery in Portugal and the prospect that with the progress of vaccination and control of the pandemic situation, it will be possible for us to exceed the 4% growth estimate presented in the Stability Program.

Way above Eurozone average

Both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter growth are considerably above the Eurozone and EU averages, signaling a resumption of the convergence process interrupted during the pandemic.

After an above-average drop in the first quarter (-3.2% quarter-on-quarter), due to the confinement caused by the pandemic, Portugal shows in the second quarter, as of today, the highest growth rate (4.9%) among the EU countries, such as Germany (1.5%), Spain (2.8%), France (0.9%) or Italy (2.7%).

Source: AICEP