The Maltese economy had the highest growth rate among EU member states in the second quarter of this year, according to figures published by the NSO.

Between April and June, GDP grew by 5.2 per cent as against the EU’s average of 1.6 per cent.

The NSO said provisional estimates indicated that the GDP for the second quarter amounted to €2,116 million, an increase of 7.3 per cent over the corresponding period last year. In real terms, it went up by 5.2 per cent.

Gross value added was mainly generated by professional, scientific and technical activities, administrative and support services activities, which increased by 18.1 per cent.

Public administration and defence, education, human health and social work activities also increased significantly, by 6.9 per cent.

In a statement, the government said the latest GDP figures showed that Malta was the fastest growing economy in the EU. It said positive growth rates were registered across all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, which saw a positive nominal growth rate of 4.7 per cent.

The government noted that economic growth in the second quarter of 2015 was underpinned by sustained growth in private consumption and, more significantly, by a strong increase of 24.3 per cent in investment.

It said real estate activities registered double digit growth in the second quarter of the year.