Portugal GDP increases 4.9% YoY in Q3 2022

Investment and household consumption expenditure were decisive for growth in the Eurozone and the EU in the third quarter.

Portugal was the fifth European Union (EU) country that grew most in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, far exceeding the growth of 2.5% registered in the bloc. Concerning the previous quarter, the variation was in line with the 27 member states.

Portugal’s GDP grew by 4.9% in the third quarter, compared to the same quarter of the previous year. This growth rate was only exceeded by Ireland (10.6%), Croatia (5.5%), Cyprus (5.4%) and Malta (5.2%), according to data released Wednesday by Eurostat. GDP increased by 2.3% in the euro area and 2.5% in the EU.

When compared with the previous quarter, GDP in Portugal grew by 0.4%, which is in line with all 27 member states, with the difference that with the EU, the economy decreased from 0.7% to 0.4%. In the eurozone, the third quarter saw growth of 0.3%, down from 0.8% in the previous three months.

The eurozone and the EU benefited from the acceleration seen in investment, which grew by 3.6% and 3.2%, respectively. Between April and June, the rates had been only 0.9% and 1.1%. Household final consumption expenditure also contributed positively, increasing by 0.9% in the eurozone and 0.7% in the EU, although at a slightly lower rate than in the previous quarter.

Pulling downwards was net external demand, with the growth in exports (1.7% in the eurozone and 1.9% in the EU) lagging far behind the increase in imports (4.3% in the eurozone and 4% in the EU). Government spending made a close to zero contribution.