Portugal’s economy slumps 16.3%

According to the EU’s statistical agency Eurostat, Portugal suffered the fourth largest economic slump in the European Union with a fall of 16.3% in GDP.

However, normally more robust economies such as France, Spain and Italy were even harder hit than Portugal because of the pandemic according to Eurostat which states that Southern Europe was generally harder hit than other regions.
As a whole, GDP fell 14.1% in the EU and 15% in the Euro Zone in like-for-like terms, it was a fall of 11.7% and 12.1% respectively.
However, in the data per country, there were significant differences in economic performance in the second quarter, in a period marked by quarantine measures because of the pandemic.
Portugal suffered the fourth largest slump in GDP (-16.3%) in the European Union, behind Spain (-22.1%), France (-19%) and Italy (-17.3%).
The other 16 countries for which there is data suffered less serious recessions during the second quarter with Lithuania’s economy shrinking the least at -3.7%.
But on the previous quarter (Q2), Portugal suffered the third largest fall in EU GDP (-11.9%), behind Spain (-18-5%) and Hungary (-14.5%).
In the Euro Zone’s largest economy Germany, the recession was 11.7% in like-for-like terms, and 10.1% in Q2. In Sweden, one of more controversial countries in strategy for dealing with the virus – GDP contracted 8.3% like-for-like and 8.6% on Q2.
But if the UK had still been within the EU, its economic recession would have been the worst in Europe with a 21.7% fall in GDP in like for-like terms and 20.4% on Q2.