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ROME, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Italy's seasonally adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) increased 16.1 percent in the third quarter (Q3) compared to the previous quarter, the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) reported on Friday.

The "marked third-quarter recovery brings GDP volume back to levels recorded in the first half of 2015," the ISTAT said in a report.

"After a strong contraction in the first half of the year due to the economic effects of the health emergency, the Italian economy posts a consistent recovery in the third quarter," the report said, adding "the recovery is spread across all economic sectors, driven both by domestic and foreign demand."

However, Italy's GDP decreased by 4.7 percent compared to the Q3 of 2019 due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, ISTAT said.

The pandemic led to a nationwide March-May lockdown that drove the country's economy to a halt.

The GDP data followed on news that Italy's September 2020 exports to non-EU countries, including China, increased by 3 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, and by 8.3 percent compared to August 2020.

Italy's exports to China jumped by 33 percent in September this year compared to September 2019, according to ISTAT.