Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 1.4 percent in the euro area in 2011, down from a 1.9-percent growth registered in 2010, the statistics office of the European Union (EU) said Tuesday.

The Eurostat data also showed a 1.5-percent increase in the 27-state EU's economic output for the whole 2011, while the EU saw its economy grow 2 percent in the previous year.

In spite of the overall growth for 2011, Eurostat figures showed that the GDP of both the euro area and the EU shrunk in the fourth quarter last year.

GDP decreased by 0.3 percent in both the eurozone and the EU, confirming an earlier estimate issued by the Eurostat.

Eurostat attributed the contraction to a slump in household consumption, exports and imports in Europe.

Household spending decreased by 0.4 percent in the euro area and by 0.2 percent in the EU. Exports dropped by 0.4 percent in the euro area and by 0.1 percent in the EU. Imports decreased by 1.2 percent in the euro area and by 0.8 percent in the EU.