LISBON, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The newly released national accounts issued on Monday by the Portuguese National Statistics Institute (INE) revised up the GDP growth rates of the last three years from 1.9 to 2 percent for 2016, from 2.8 to 3.5 percent for 2017 and from 2.1 to 2.4 percent for 2018.

Two weeks before the Portuguese national elections, these figures were welcomed by the government.

The government said in a statement that "the data published by INE indicates that economic growth, external accounts and public accounts have had an exceptional evolution over the current legislature."

"These results of improving the external situation of the economy are of vital importance for the sustainability of the Portuguese economy," said the statement issued by the Finance Ministry.