Irish gross national product (GNP) rose 4.6 per cent in 2001, and gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 5.7 per cent, according to a report released by the Central Statistics Office.
Both figures were lower than estimates of 5.9 per cent for GDP and 5 per cent for GNP. The figures also represent a dramatic slowdown when compared with the period between 1995 and 2000 when GNP and GDP growth averaged more than 9 per cent.
But consumer spending maintained a buoyant trend, growing by 9.6 per cent in 2001. Government spending on goods and services climbed 18.7 per cent.
Capital investment grew by 7.7 per cent in money terms, which represents a half point drop in real terms.
Exports outpaced imports by €16,877 million, compared with a €14,035 surplus in 2000. This was offset by an increase of €2,701 million in net factor income outflows to the rest of the world.
Despite a comparative slowdown, the Irish economy outperformed its European partners last year in the face of a global downturn and the aftershocks of the terrorist attacks in the United States.
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