VIENNA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Austria's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.8 percent in real terms in 2023 compared to 2022, as its economy struggles with continued recession, Statistics Austria said on Thursday.
Director General of Statistics Austria Tobias Thomas said in a statement that the decline was "primarily due to the negative development of manufacturing, trade and transportation."
The economic output of the country's manufacturing, trade and transportation sectors declined in 2023 by 2.7 percent, 5.8 percent and 6.1 percent year-on-year respectively, according to Statistics Austria.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Austria's GDP declined by 1.7 percent year on year. This followed a 1.6 percent and 2 percent contraction in the second and third quarters of last year, indicating the country's recession had continued into the third consecutive quarter.
A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction. ■