According to INE, the Autonomous Region of the Azores, despite the sharp decrease in the sectors of commerce, transport and accommodation, and restaurants (-25%), showed a contraction close to that of the country, partially justified by the evolution of the gross value added (GVA) of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as financial and insurance activities.

The provisional results of the 2020 Regional Accounts, published by INE, highlight that, in a year with strong restrictions on economic activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Portugal's GDP registered a nominal decrease of 6.7% and a real decrease of 8.4%.

In this regard, all regions registered negative nominal variations, the most accentuated ones having been registered in the Algarve (-15%) and in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (-13%). For the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (-7.8%), the Autonomous Region of the Azores (-7.5%) and Alentejo (-7%) more negative nominal variations were also estimated, while North (-5%) and Center (-4%) showed more moderate decreases when compared to the country's average.

Also in real terms, there was a GDP contraction in all regions, particularly in the Algarve (-16.7%) and the Autonomous Region of Madeira (-14.3%). The Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (-9.5%), the Autonomous Region of the Azores (-9.2%), Alentejo (-8.3%) and North (-7%) registered contractions closer to the country's average, while Center (-5.9%) was the region that most resisted the economic effects of the pandemic.

GDP increased 4.7% in 2019
The Azores GDP increased 4.7% in 2019, registering a growth above the national average.

“In 2019, the country's GDP registered a nominal variation of 4.5% and a real variation of 2.7%. In nominal terms, GDP grew in all regions, particularly in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, in the Algarve (both 5.2%) and in the Autonomous Region of the Azores (4.7%), the only ones showing a growth above the national average”, according to INE.

According to the statistics office, "for the real growth of GDP in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, in the Algarve and in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, the sectors of commerce, transport and accommodation, and restaurants, activities with significant relevance in the productive structure of those regions, contribute significantly, registering increases in GVA, in volume, of 3.5%, 3.0% and 3.8%, respectively”. 

Household income increased in 2019
The gross primary income of Azorean families reached, in 2019, 3245 million euros, while the gross disposable income reached 3321 million euros, which corresponds to increases of 4.5% and 4.3 %, respectively, compared to 2018.

According to INE, the gross primary income was above the national average (4.7) in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (5.5%), in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (5.0%) and in the Algarve (4.9 %). On the contrary, growth was slightly lower than the national average in the North and in the Autonomous Region of the Azores (both 4.5%), in the Center (4.0%) and in Alentejo (3.9%).

As for gross disposable income, the greatest increase was registered in the Algarve (6%), higher than the country's average (4.5%).

In the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, the household disposable income grew (5.3%) above the national average, while in the Autonomous Region of the Azores (4.3%), in the North and Alentejo (both with 4.1%), and in the Center (4%) the increases were close to the national average. In the Autonomous Region of Madeira, this indicator grew by only 2.9%, due to the decrease in other current transfers from the rest of the world, specifically the so-called migrant remittances (-21.6%).