THE HAGUE, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch economy grew by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022, narrowly escaping a recession feared in the final months of last year, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) said on Tuesday.
Growth in Q4 was broad-based, with the trade balance and household consumption making the largest contribution. In Q3 of 2022, the economy shrank 0.2 percent and there were fears that the country would end up in a recession with another quarter of contraction.
Economic growth of 0.6 percent in the Netherlands was higher than that in the neighboring European countries, the CBS said. In France and Belgium, economic growth was 0.1 percent in the same period, while in Germany, the largest economy in the European Union (EU), the economy contracted by 0.2 percent.
Citing preliminary figures, the CBS said that the country's annual GDP growth rate for 2022 was 4.5 percent, mainly due to higher household consumption and to improvements in the trade balance. ■