BRUSSELS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The eurozone economic growth continued at a healthy pace in the fourth quarter last year, according to official data released on Tuesday.

The preliminary flash estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) showed that the eurozone economy expanded by 0.6 percent quarter on quarter during the last three month, according to Eurostat, the statistics agency of the European Union (EU).

The figure is in line with the consensus expectation but slightly slower than the 0.7 percent recorded in the previous quarter.

Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, eurozone GDP rose by 2.7 percent in the fourth quarter. Over the whole year 2017, GDP grew by 2.5 percent in the 19-nation zone.

"While there is no detail in this release, the breakdown for France suggests that growth was broad-based," Stephen Brown, a European economist at Capital Economics.

France's statistics institute Insee said Tuesday in the last three months of 2017, France's economy expanded by 0.6 percent.

"Euro-zone GDP growth continued at a healthy pace in Q4 and, while the European Commission's Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) declined in January, it continues to point to a pick-up in growth to come," Brown said.