Rome, Feb 1 (IANS): Economic growth in Italy was stronger than expected last year, at 3.9 per cent, according to official data released on Tuesday.

However, the Italian economy contracted in the fourth quarter of 2022, making it likely that it will enter into a technical recession this year.

The data from Italy's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT) provides the first full-year picture of the country's economic performance last year, a period blighted by high inflation, energy shortages, and trade problems sparked by the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Although the 3.9-per cent growth rate for the full year beats the forecast in the Italian government's 2022-23 economic blueprint, the 0.1 per cent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2022 broke a trend of seven consecutive quarters of positive economic growth, ISTAT said.

This means that if the economy shrinks again this quarter, as widely anticipated, Italy will enter into a recession, which is defined by back-to-back quarters of negative growth, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, despite the contraction over the last three months of the year, Italy's economy was still 1.7 per cent larger than during the same period a year earlier.