Official data released on Thursday indicated that Britain’s economy rebounded somewhat less than expected last year, pointing to a considerably tougher 2022 due to the consequences of the Ukraine crisis and increasing prices.

The Office for National Statistics announced in a statement that GDP increased 7.4% in 2021, down from an early estimate of 7.5 percent growth.

Despite the modification, Britain’s economy grew at its fastest rate since World War II.

The ONS said that growth in the fourth quarter of last year was better than predicted after a slightly weaker-than-expected third quarter.

“GDP grew a little stronger than we first thought in the fourth quarter, meaning it is now only 0.1 percent below its pre-pandemic level,” said Darren Morgan, director of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

In the third quarter, output increased by 1.3 percent, above expectations of 1.0 percent growth.

In the meantime, the British economy is forecast to develop at a much slower pace this year as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a cost-of-living issue brought on by rising inflation, according to the government’s latest budget report.

GDP is expected to grow by 3.8 percent in 2022, down from a previous government projection of 6% in October.

The GDP of the United Kingdom shrank by 9.3 percent in 2020 as a result of pandemic lockdowns, according to the ONS.

This was slightly better than the previous projection of a 9.4% contraction.

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