Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in real terms registered a year-on-year reduction of 6.1% in the fourth quarter 2020 (rate of change of -5.7% in the previous quarter). The contribution of domestic demand to the year-on-year rate of change of GDP was less negative, shifting from -3.5 percentage points in the third quarter to -2.7 percentage points, reflecting, to a large extent, the less intense reduction of Investment, while private consumption registered a more pronounced decline. Net external demand presented a more negative contribution in the fourth quarter, shifting from -2.1 percentage points in the previous quarter to -3.5 percentage points, with a more intense contraction of Exports of Goods and Services (-14,1%) than that observed of Imports of Goods and Services (-6,5%).
Compared to the third quarter of 2020, GDP increased by 0.2% in real terms, after the strong rates of change with opposite signs in the previous quarters (-13.9% and +13.3% in the second and third quarters, respectively), with GDP growth being driven by the contribution of domestic demand.
In 2020, GDP contracted by 7.6% in volume (growth rate of 2.5% in 2019), reflecting the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic activity. Domestic demand presented a significant negative contribution (-4.6 percentage points) to the annual rate of change of GDP (+2.8 percentage points in 2019), mainly due to the decrease of private consumption. The contribution of net external demand was more negative in 2020, mainly reflecting the unprecedented reduction of tourism exports.