Brussels, Feb 1 (IANS): Gross domestic product (GDP) in both the eurozone and the European Union (EU) increased by 5.2 per cent in 2021, according to a flash estimate released by Eurostat, the bloc's statistical office.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 0.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the eurozone and by 0.4 per cent in the EU, Xinhua news agency quoted Eurostat as saying on Monday.

The respective growth figures for the third quarter of last year were 2.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent.

Year-on-year, seasonally adjusted GDP increased by 4.6 per cent in the eurozone and 4.8 per cent in the EU in the fourth quarter of 2021, after a 3.9 per cent increase in the eurozone and a 4.1 per cent increase in the EU in the previous quarter.

Among the EU member states for which data are available for the fourth quarter 2021, Spain saw an increase of 2 per cent, the highest compared to the previous quarter, followed by Portugal (1.6 per cent) and Sweden (1.4 per cent).

Declines were recorded in Austria (minus 2.2 per cent), Germany (minus 0.7 per cent) and Latvia (minus 0.1 per cent).

The year-on-year rates were positive for all countries.