Today’s announcements by ELSTAT confirm that the Greek economy remains on a stable trajectory of high growth, which, guided by investments, continues the trajectory of convergence of the Greek economy with the European average.

Factors from the Ministry of National Economy and Finance come to this conclusion, commenting as follows the provisional data on the development of the GDP in the first quarter from ELSTAT, as well as the corresponding announcement from Eurostat on the evolution of GDP in the countries of the eurozone and the European Union.

As the specific officials report, based on the available seasonally adjusted data from ELSTAT, the GDP in terms of volume, during the first quarter of 2024 showed an increase of 0.7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, while compared to the first quarter of 2023 showed an increase of 2.1%.

In particular, in relation to the first quarter of 2023 the total final consumption expenditure showed an increase of 1.1%, with household consumption increasing by 2.2% and public consumption to decline by 4%. Gross fixed capital formation increased by 2.9%. Exports of goods and services decreased by 5.7%, with exports of goods falling by 8.8%, while exports of services increased by 1.5%. Finally, imports of goods and services showed an increase of 3.1%, with imports of goods up 2.5% and imports of services up 4.8%.

Regarding the composition of growth in relation to the fourth quarter of 2023, the first quarter of 2024:

  • Household consumption in Greece increased by 0.2%, a rate equal to the performance of the Eurozone and the EU.
  • Public consumption fell in Greece by 2.7%, against zero change in the Eurozone and a marginal increase (0.1%) in the EU.
  • Investments increased in Greece by 7.1%, against a decrease of 1.5% in the Eurozone and the EU.
  • Exports of goods and services decreased in Greece by 2.4%, against an increase of 1.4% in the Eurozone and 1% in the EU.
  • Imports of goods and services decreased in Greece by 0.6%, compared to a decrease of 0.3% in the Eurozone and 0.2% in the EU.

From the above, according to the Ministry of Finance, it follows that the development of the Greek language economy continues to be much stronger than the European average. On a seasonally adjusted basis, relative to the first quarter in 2023, in the first quarter of 2024 GDP in the euro area and the European Union increased by 0.4% and 0.5% respectively. Consequently, on an annual basis in the first quarter of 2024 the GDP growth rate in Greece was five times and four times higher than the average of the Eurozone and the EU respectively.

While, as far as the composition of development in Greece is concerned, they themselves add, its most basic characteristic is the very strong increase in investment, whose rate of change compared to the previous quarter (7.1%) was much higher than the increase in consumption (0.2%). This characteristic is even more impressive if one takes into account that during the same period investments showed a negative rate of change both in the eurozone and in the EU. These figures, according to the Ministry of Finance, indicate that the change in the growth model of the Greek economy continues , and the gradual covering of the investment gap in relation to the European average. They also advocate the growing attractiveness of Greece as an investment destination for domestic and foreign investors. Indeed, based on data from the Bank of Greece, compared to the first quarter in 2023, in the first quarter of 2024 foreign direct investment in Greece has increased by approximately 10%.

It also continues the increase in service exports, at rates significantly higher than total consumption. As far as the exports of goods are concerned, on an annual basis they register a decrease of 5.7%. This is to some extent due to a high base effect, i.e. the very high price of exports in the first quarter of 2023. According to the data of the Bank of Greece, in nominal terms in the first quarter of 2024 the amount of Greek exports of goods was 39, 5% higher than the first quarter of 2021, 5.3% higher than the first quarter of 2022, and 10.7% lower than the first quarter of 2023. The forecasts of both the ministry, the factors emphasize, as well as all international organizations is that exports of goods and services in 2024 will show a positive change compared to 2023. And the latest data on merchandise transactions, announced today by ELSTAT for April, show an increase in exports by 11, 1%, while the figures for exports excluding petroleum products show a greater increase of 17%.