Updated 1.40pm with Finance Ministry statement
GDP rose by 5.2 per cent in real terms in the first quarter of 2016 when compared to the corresponding period last year, provisional figures issued by the National Statistics Office have shown.
Total GDP amounted to €2,185.6 million, an increase of €153.4 million from the amount in Q1 2015.
Eurostat figures released today revealed that GDP grew by an average of 0.6 per cent across the Euro area and 0.5 per cent in the 28-member EU bloc as a whole. Those figures represent increases of 1.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively when compared to Q1 of 2015. The Eurostat figures did not include data for Malta's GDP growth this quarter.
In a statement, the Finance Ministry drew parallels between Malta's 5.2 per cent growth figure and the more modest 1.8 per cent EU equivalent. It attributed this "robust economic performance" to strong increases in both investment and private consumption.
"The Government has achieved one of its main policy targets which is that of increasing Malta’s growth potential," said Finance Minister Edward Scicluna. "This was the result of various supply-side policies implemented throughout these last three years."
Domestically, Gross Value Added increased by €124.2 million in the first quarter of the year when compared to the same quarter last year, the NSO said. This was mainly generated by wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transportation and storage; accommodation and food service activities which increased by €28.4 million or 8.0 per cent, the NSO statement said.
Other increases were registered in professional, scientific and technical activities;
administrative and support service activities by €24.4 million or 11.2 per cent; and in public administration and defence; education; human health and social work activities which increased by €18.0 million or 5.0 per cent. A slight drop was registered in construction.
Total final consumption expenditure in nominal terms increased by 7.6 per cent and by 6.4 per cent in real terms. Gross fixed capital formation increased by 22.6 per cent in nominal prices and by 16.2 per cent in real terms. Real exports and real imports increased by 0.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.
Compared to the corresponding quarter last year, the increase in GDP at current prices of €153.4 million is estimated to have been distributed into a €54.5 million increase in compensation of employees, a €65.4 million increase in gross operating surplus of enterprises, and a €33.6 million increase in net taxation on production and imports.
The NSO said that, considering the effects of income and taxation paid and received by residents to and from the rest of the world, Gross National Income (GNI) at market prices for the first quarter of 2016 was estimated at €2,150.7 million.