The UK economy grew by 7.5 percent in 2021, rebounding from its 9.4 percent fall in 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Friday.

The figure is the strongest since the ONS began its records in 1948 and the fastest since 1941, during World War II, using data collected by the Bank of England (BOE).

Gross domestic product (GDP) in December fell by 0.2 percent from November and was 6.0 percent higher than a year earlier, the ONS said.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.6 percent monthly fall for the world's fifth-biggest economy and for output to be 6.3 percent higher than a year earlier.

The economy grew by 1.0 percent for the fourth quarter as a whole, the same rate as the quarter before.

"Despite December's setback, GDP grew robustly across the fourth quarter as a whole with the NHS (National Health Service), couriers and employment agencies all helping to support the economy," ONS economist Darren Morgan said.

COVID-19 infections in Britain peaked around the turn of the year but have since fallen sharply, and the BOE forecast last week that output, measured on a quarterly basis, would recover to its pre-pandemic size by the end of March.

The BOE on February 3 raised its benchmark interest rate to 0.5 percent amid inflation concerns, the first back-to-back increase in over 17 years.

(With input from Reuters)