This figure marks a marked slowdown compared to the 0.3% of the third quarter, but it thwarts the predictions of analysts who expected a contraction.
The consensus of experts from Factset and Bloomberg expected a decline of 0.1% in GDP in the last quarter of 2022 for the 20 countries sharing the single currency.
European economic activity seems to be holding up well against the negative consequences of the war in Ukraine.
It is benefiting in particular from the fall in inflation since November, the improvement in supply chains and the recent reopening of the Chinese economy.
Over the whole of 2022, growth in the euro zone reached 3.5%, according to Eurostat, a figure higher than that of China (3%) and the United States (2.1%).
The performance is above the forecast of 3.2% published in November by the European Commission.
The trend is the same for the whole of the European Union, with GDP stable in the fourth quarter and up by 3.6% over the full year.
In November, the European Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, said he expected a recession this winter, expecting a contraction in GDP in both the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. But he was more optimistic recently, believing that the recession could be avoided, despite a phase of clear slowdown.
On Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised up its growth forecast for the euro zone in 2023 by 0.2 points, to 0.7%.
© 2023 AFP