Annual and quarterly economic growth down slightly between January and March

The Catalan economy grew by 2.9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023 according to figures made public by the Idescat statistics institute on Friday, a tenth of a percentage point lower than initially predicted. 

Quarter-on-quarter growth was 1.1%, also a tenth of a percentage point lower. 

Sales abroad fueled this economic growth as they were up by 15.5% compared to a year prior while imports were at 8.7%. 

The Catalan economy grew year-on-year at a rate 0.9 percentage points below the Spanish economy, though it was above the EU's 1%. 

However, quarter-on-quarter growth was 0.6 percentage points higher in Catalonia than in Spain as a whole and 1 percentage point higher than the EU average.