Last Updated on Monday, 4 September, 2023 at 4:11 pm by Andre Camilleri
Provisional estimates indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter of 2023 amounted to €4.7 billion, registering an increase of €416.9 million, or 9.7 per cent, when compared to the same quarter of 2022. In volume terms, GDP rose by 3.9 per cent, the NSO said Monday
For the second quarter of 2023, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Maltese economy registered a positive year-on-year growth rate of 3.9 per cent in volume terms.
The GDP deflator went up by 5.6 per cent compared to the same quarter last year. This represents a decrease of 0.1 percentage points in comparison to the year-on-year rate recorded in the first quarter of 2023.
The production approach
The production approach, also called the output approach, measures GDP as the sum of the Gross Value Added (GVA), which is the difference between value of output less the value of intermediate consumption, and Taxes less subsidies on products.
During the second quarter of 2023, GVA rose by 5.2 per cent in volume terms, when compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022.
The contribution to the GVA growth rate in volume terms of Service activities (NACE Sections G to U) and Industry (NACE Sections B to F) were both positive and stood at 4.0 percentage points and 1.3 percentage points, respectively. Conversely, Agriculture and fishing (NACE Section A) recorded a negative contribution of 0.1 percentage points.
The increase in Service activities was mainly driven by the growth rates recorded in the following sectors: Administrative and support services activities (25.4 per cent), Financial and insurance activities (15.4 per cent) and Accommodation and food service activities (21.8 per cent).
The expenditure approach
The expenditure approach is another method used to calculate GDP and is derived by adding Final consumption expenditure, Gross capital formation and Net exports.
Domestic demand had a negative contribution of 2.7 percentage points to the year-on-year GDP growth rate in volume terms. Conversely, the external demand registered a positive contribution of 6.6 percentage points.
In the second quarter of 2023, Final consumption expenditure increased by 2.9 per cent in volume terms. This was mainly the result of an increase in Private final consumption of 5.9 per cent. General government final consumption decreased by 3.8 per cent.
Gross fixed capital formation declined by 18.3 per cent in volume terms. This decrease was mainly attributable to lower investment in Transport equipment.
Exports of goods and services in volume terms increased by 2.5 per cent and Imports of goods and services declined by 1.6 per cent.
The Gross Domestic Product for the second quarter of 2023 has been subject to an ad-hoc revision in national accounts data. Ad hoc revisions result mostly from the incorporation of new data sources to replace past estimates with more robust figures, and methodological improvements, which may cause more significant changes than those carried out in routine revisions. The results of 2018 are now considered definitive until the next benchmark revision.
Due to these modifications, it is not possible to compare the data in this news release with figures previously published.
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