The united Kingdom is in recession. This is according to the country’s Office of national statistics.
Gross domestic product shrank 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023 after contracting 0.1 percent in the prior three months.
That places the economy in recession, which is defined as two quarters of falling GDP in a row.
Official data released on Thursday revealed that Britain entered a recession last year due to heightened inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, posing a challenge for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of this year’s general election.
While economists predicted that the recession could be short-lived, the data is a big setback for Prime Minister Sunak, who has placed economic growth as a key priority.
It has also dealt another blow on the embattled Prime Minister whose Conservative party is forecast to lose a general election expected this year.
The UK and Japan are officially now the two countries in the world in recession.
In 2020, Britain’s economy contracted by a record 20.4 per cent in the second quarter with the country in lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic, official data had shown.
Meanwhile, in December 2023, Britain’s economy unexpectedly shrank in the third quarter, official data showed, raising fears of a potential recession before an election due next year (2024).
Gross domestic product contracted 0.1 per cent between July and September, down from a prior estimate of zero growth, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
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