Economic growth in the first quarter of 2023
Preliminary estimates of the quarterly national accounts show that Real gross domestic product (GDP), seasonally adjusted, increased at an annual rate of 2.1 percent in the first three months of the current year (January to March 2023), i.e., compared to the first quarter of 2022, reflecting a slight improvement compared to the previous quarter (1.8%). In terms of quarter-on-quarter change, i.e., compared to the last quarter of the previous year, the Real GDP increased by 0.8 percent, while it had increased by almost the same percentage in the fourth quarter 2022 (0.7%).
Despite the prevailing inflationary pressures, domestic demand increased at an annual rate of 1.8%, structurally appearing as the main economic driver, contributing positively for 1.9 percentage points to real GDP growth during the first quarter (2.1). While the external trade balance contributed 0.2 points, due to the increase in the volume of exports of goods and services (12.3%), which slightly exceeded that of imports (10.0%).
