SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's economy posted an annual growth rate of 6.1 percent in 2010, an eight-year record high, the central bank said Wednesday.- N- y& U+ Z7 f& ^8 f
The country's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew 6.1 percent compared with 2009, when the growth rate stood at 0.2 percent, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said.+ B' Z. |4 M7 Z
Asia's fourth-largest economy marked the highest annual growth rate since 2002 when it recorded a 7.2 percent expansion.# n1 w: f) C9 r( C% a3 M
Meanwhile, the nation's economic growth rate moderated to 0.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous quarter while the fourth-quarter GDP expanded 4.8 percent from a year earlier.
( w" S3 ^. S4 t* |4 O The fourth quarter GDP expanded 4.8 percent from a year earlier, up from the third-quarter 4.4 percent growth.
$ q7 Z! i2 @: w, F8 h+ { The Korean economy recorded a positive growth rate for the eighth straight quarter since the start of global financial crisis while the width of growth rate has narrowed for three quarters in a row. |