GDP growth in the first quarter

According to MONSTAT data, in the first quarter of 2023, GDP grew by 6.1% in real terms. The total GDP was EUR 1220.0 million in current prices and EUR 1095.2 in constant prices. Compared to the countries of the region, the highest growth rate was recorded in Montenegro. According to EUROSTAT data, the GDP growth rate in Serbia was 0.7% and in North Macedonia was 2.1%.
The biggest contribution to GDP growth was the growth of household consumption. In general, consumption of the population makes up the largest part of GDP. Compared to the first quarter of 2022, the share increased from 85.6% to 89.4% in the first quarter of this year. In the comparative period, the real growth rate of private consumption amounted to 16.3%. The growth of consumption was influenced by the growth of wages, which was stimulated by the growth of wages in the public sector. Earnings in the first quarter were nominally higher by 10.2%. In the first quarter, consumption was boosted by the influx of migrants from Ukraine and Russia, but also by the influx of people from other countries, such as Turkey and Germany.
The real growth rate of state consumption in the first quarter of this year was 2.9%. A positive contribution to GDP growth was made by investments, which increased by 12.7% in real terms compared to the first quarter of the previous year. However, in comparison with the same period from previous years, the share of investments in GDP is lower and amounts to 23.4%.
Observed from the production side, the real growth of GDP in the first quarter was stimulated by the growth of turnover in the sector of trade, transport and storage and accommodation and catering services, which recorded a real growth in the comparative period of 16.9% and which makes up a fifth of the total GDP. Also, the industry sector, which accounts for slightly more than 10% of GDP, recorded a growth of 9.9%. On the other hand, the construction and real estate sectors recorded negative real growth rates of 1.5% and 6.9%, respectively. In fact, due to the influx of migrants, the real estate turnover in the observed period nominally increased by nearly 23%, however, the higher demand affected the increase in prices, which ultimately affected the real growth rate, i.e., that the value of production in this sector, expressed in prices from the previous year is smaller.

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