The Regional Government is satisfied with the data released by the INE (National Statistics Institute) on Wednesday regarding the regional accounts in 2008 and 2009, especially with the significant convergence both for the national and European averages which was registered over the last two years.

In 2008, the Azores GDP registered a real growth rate of 2.8% when national economy stagnated (0.0%) and the European Union did not exceeded 0.5%. This means that in 2008 the Azores grew at pace five times higher the average of 27 countries that make up the European Union. In the following year, 2009, the regional economy registered a better performance compared to the national economy (fall of 2.5%) and the European economy (contraction of – 4.2%). In this context, the Azores registered a negative movement of 0.3%.

These data demonstrate that the Azores were the only region with the best performance in 2008 and 2009. 

According to the information provided by the INE, the GDP per capita in the Azores represents 77% of the average of EU countries, having registered a significant convergence with the production and income averages of the European Union. In fact, over the last two years, the Azores have grown more 6 percentage points than the EU. With these data, the production activity per capita in the Azores reaches 96% of the national average, surpassing the Alentejo Region, having already surpassed the Norte  and Centro Regions in 1999 and 2001, respectively.

The available household income in the Azores reached the national average in 2008, which means that the purchasing power in the Azores registered a higher growth than the rest of the country, surpassing the Alentejo, Norte and Centro Regions.
Furthermore, regional productivity also shows a positive growth, remaining higher than the national average. It reached 105% and grew 4 percentage points compared to 2007.

The information released on Wednesday confirms that the Government was right when it stated that it would take the necessary measures to delay the effects of the adverse international conjuncture as well as to minimise its impact in the Azores.