Spain's GDP grows by 0.8% in first quarter of 2024, a tenth more than preliminary data

Spain's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2024, according to the final data released by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) on Tuesday, a tenth more than the preliminary data announced in late April showed.

Compared to the same quarter in 2023, the GDP grew to 2.5%, as it was 2.1% in last year, while the growth compared to the last quarter of the previous year was of one-tenth.

National demand increased and accounted for 2.3 percentage points of the 2.5% growth, while foreign demand accounted for the other 0.2 percentage points.

Back in April, Spain's economy minister, Carlos Cuerpo, said that these data showed that Spain is in an "optimal" situation, with "differential growth" despite "increased uncertainty."

Investment improved by 2.3%, especially in machinery, which grew by 3.4%, and housing, which grew by 3.3%.  

Exports dropped by -0.2% between January and March, a 1.3% drop compared to 2023, while imports fell by 0.7%.

Consumption slowed to 2.7% year-on-year, but household consumption remained stable at 2.5%.

In contrast, government consumption fell by 0.7 percentage points to 3.4%.  

In the labor market, the total number of hours worked increased by 1.3% compared to the previous year.