The growth of the Portuguese economy in the fourth quarter of 2023 was surprising, as the economists consulted expected an expansion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in year-on-year terms between 1.2% and 2% and in a chain between a growth of 0.6% and a contraction of 0.1%.

According to the first estimate from the National Statistics Institute (INE), at the end of 2023, the Portuguese economy grew 2.2% compared to the same period of the previous year and 0.8% compared to the third quarter, thus avoiding a technical recession, after GDP contracted 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the penultimate quarter of the year.

In 2023 as a whole, GDP recorded growth of 2.3%, in line with the 2.2% target expected by the Government, after the 6.8% increase in 2022, the highest since 1987.