ROME, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Italy's economy grew by 0.9 percent in 2023, an increase from preliminary estimates published in January, the country's National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) said on Friday.

       ISTAT also reported that the country's public debt declined to 137.3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) from 140.5 percent in 2022.

       Last year represented the third consecutive year of steady decline in the debt-to-GDP ratio after it had jumped to 154.9 percent in 2020, the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the downward trend, however, Italy remains one of the most indebted countries globally.

       "Growth was mainly stimulated by national demand... with an equal contribution from both consumption and investments," ISTAT said in a statement.

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       The government's budget deficit was 7.2 percent of the country's GDP in 2023, down from 8.6 percent in 2022, ISTAT said.

       Italy's inflation rate stayed at 0.8 percent in February. Preliminary estimates indicated a modest price increase of 0.1 percent compared to January. The 0.8-percent rate was in line with the year-on-year inflation figure from January, and it has represented a trend of falling inflation since it peaked in October and November 2022 due to soaring energy prices.

       The Italian government introduced a series of anti-inflation measures between October and December last year, which included capping the prices of a basket of basic consumer goods.

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       According to ISTAT, the overall unemployment rate stabilized at 7.2 percent in January 2024, although the rate for job seekers under the age of 25 climbed by 0.2 percentage points to 21.8 percent, making it one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the European Union.