Macedonia’s real GDP growth quickened to 3.2% y/y in Q1 from 2.7% y/y in Q4 2014, thanks to a recovery in investments, statistics office data showed. We remind that the country’s economy expanded by 3.8% in 2014.
Nominal GDP was MKD126.6bn (€2.05bn) in the first quarter of 2015.
Final consumption grew 1.9% y/y in Q1, slowing from a 2.7% y/y expansion in Q4. Both components of final consumption decelerated y/y – household consumption to 2.2% from 2.9%, and government consumption to 0.9% from 1.9%. On the other hand, growth in gross capital formation speeded up to 2.4% from 1.8%.
Growth in both exports and imports decelerated sharply in Q1. Exports rose 8%, significantly outpacing imports, which climbed 4.3%, versus 22.4% and 17.4%, respectively in Q4.
The Q1 breakdown by production approach shows that the highest increase of 9.9% y/y took place in a group defined as “professional, scientific and technical activities; administrative and support service activities”. Notably, manufacturing turned to a 1.8% y/y contraction in Q1, reversing a 4.5% y/y rise in Q4.
| GDP, % y/y real | ||||||
| Q1'14 | Q2'14 | Q3'14 | Q4'14 | 2014 | Q1'15 | |
| Gross Domestic Product | 3.3 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| Final consumption | -0.4 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 1.9 |
| - Household final consumption | -0.1 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 2.2 |
| - General govt final consumption | -1.7 | 0.0 | -5.2 | 1.9 | -1.2 | 0.9 |
| Gross capital formation | 31.0 | 8.9 | 19.1 | 1.8 | 13.5 | 2.4 |
| Exports of goods and services | 14.2 | 15.9 | 15.2 | 22.4 | 17.0 | 8.0 |
| Imports of goods and services | 14.8 | 11.5 | 14.3 | 17.4 | 14.5 | 4.3 |
| Source: Statistics office |
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