MADRID, April 30 -- The Spanish gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, according to data published by the Spanish Statistical Office (INE) on Tuesday.

The rise was considerably higher than a previous forecast of a 0.4 percent hike for the first three months of the year and comes despite a 1 percent drop in public spending, the INE informs.

National demand contributed 0.2 percentage points to the quarter-on-quarter growth of GDP while the external demand contributed 0.5 percentage points, according to the INE.

This was offset by a modest 0.3 percent increase in household final consumption, with gross capital formation rising by 1.3 percent, accompanied by positive growth in all major sectors of the economy, such as construction, manufacturing, primary activities and services.

On a year-by-year basis, Spain's GDP grew by 2.4 percent, which is 0.3 percent more than the previous quarter and considerably higher than market predictions of a 1.9 percent rise.

The data from the fourth largest economy in the European Union comes on the same day that other major European economies also announced positive results for the first three months of 2024.

The strong performance of Spain's GDP has not been matched by the employment market, with the INE reporting on April 26 that unemployment grew by 117,000 in the first quarter of 2024, with the loss of just under 140,000 jobs.

  - Xinhua