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Press Release 21/05/2007

QUARTERLY ECONOMIC ACCOUNTS (QEA) 1ST QUATER 2007



The GDP of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country registered an inter-annual growth of 4.1% in the first quarter of 2007


Once again, Industry has been the driving force of Basque economy, stimulated by exports abroad and by the production of machinery and equipment


The GDP generated by the economic activity of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country experienced a real growth of 4.1% in the first quarter of 2007, with respect to the same period of 2006, according to data compiled by EUSTAT. This good behaviour of Basque economy is all the more noteworthy because it has been achieved in comparison with the first quarter of the previous year, which was already a record-breaker over the last two-year period.


This rate of inter-annual growth is 0.1% above that reached by the Spanish economy (4.0%), and 0.9% above that obtained by the EU-27 (3.2%) and 2% above that of the USA (2.1%).


The inter-quarterly GDP growth for this quarter of 2007 in comparison with the fourth quarter of 2006 shows a certain acceleration, which situates this rate at 1.5%, in comparison with the 0.4% registered in the previous quarter. The inter-quarterly variation has been 1.0% for the Spanish economy, 0.6% for the average of the European Union-27 and 0.3% for the American economy.


Graph 1. GDP per quarter. Inter-annual growth rates. (%)



Data corrected reference to seasonal and calendar effects.

Source: Quarterly Economic Accounts, Eustat. Data on Spain: INE. Data on UE-27, Euro Zone-13 and USA: Eurostat.


From the perspective of the offeror sectors, the Industrial Sector, with an inter-annual growth of 4.9%, boasts one of the above-average sectorial growths, together with the positive inter-quarterly rate of 2.7%. This industrial evolution, both in inter-annual and inter-quarterly terms, is based on the good behaviour of Machinery and Equipment, a sector to which the headway reached in terms of exports abroad has also contributed during the first quarter of the year.


The Primary Sector, Agriculture and Fishing, presents and inter-annual growth rate of 5.9%, which is due more to the contribution of the Fishing subsector than to that of Agriculture, denoting on the whole an inter-quarterly acceleration profile of 10.9%.


Table 1. GDP per quarter. Offer. Volume indexes. Inter-annual growth rates. Autonomous Community of the Basque Country



Data corrected reference to seasonal and calendar effects.

Source: Quarterly Economic Accounts, Eustat.



The Building sector, which, in previous quarters, had attained the maximum growth rates, is showing certain symptoms of economic slowdown. Its inter-annual growth of 4.4% continues being quite high, but denotes a smaller growth in comparison with the 4.9% registered in the previous quarter. Its inter-quarterly rate was of 1.9% in the previous quarter and goes down to 0.4% in this quarter.


The Service sector increases one tenth with respect to the previous quarter, reaching a rate of 3.7%. On one hand, Market Services have reached an inter-annual growth of 3.9%, one tenth above that of the fourth quarter of 2006, although its inter-quarterly profile has gone down from the previous 1.2% to the current 0.5% in this first quarter. On the other hand, Non-Market Services show an upward evolution in inter-annual terms with 2.8%, but a downward trajectory in inter-quarterly rates, going down from 1.2% in the previous quarter to 0.3% in this quarter.


In terms of Demand, inter-annual GDP growth is based, once again, in the Internal Demand that has reached a rate of 4.5%, similar to that of the previous quarter. On the other hand, imports have increased 7.0% whereas exports have grown 6.5%.


Family Expenditure, or private consumption, progresses 3.9% in this first quarter, an identical rate to the inter-annual rate corresponding to the previous quarter. However, in inter-quarterly comparisons, there is a clear acceleration of 2.5%, while that rate was 0.6% during the previous quarter.


Final Consumption of General Government, or public consumption, continues in its the trend registered in the previous quarter, reaching an inter-annual rate of 3.0% in this first quarter of 2007.


The most active aggregate of Internal Demand has been, as in previous quarters, Gross Capital Formation, that is to say, investments. This is confirmed by its inter-annual growth of 6.6%, reaching levels above the inter-annual rates of the eight previous quarters. Inter-quarterly growth is also noteworthy, reaching 1.8%.


Table 2. GDP per quarter. Demand. Volume indexes. Inter-annual growth rates. Autonomous Community of the Basque Country



Data corrected reference to seasonal and calendar effects.

Source: Quarterly Economic Accounts, Eustat.


Employed personnel in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country has experimented an inter-annual growth of 2.5% with respect to the first quarter of 2006 and an inter-quarterly rate of 0.5% over the last quarter of 2006. Over the last year, Basque economy has created over 24.000 jobs, in net figures.


The inter-annual evolution of the GDP of the three Historical Territories shows certain territorial disparities in this first quarter of 2007. The highest growth rate has taken place in Gipuzkoa (4.5%), whereas Bizkaia occupies an intermediate position (4.0%), one tenth away from the average of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, and the territory of Alava (3.8%) remains three tenths below this average.


With reference to employed personnel by territories, the best behaviour has been registered by (+2.6%), followed by Gipuzkoa (+2.5%) and Alava (+2.2%)



For more information:

Euskal Estatistika-Erakundea /Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastian, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tel:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es
Contact Person: Jóse Mª Agirre
Tel:+34-945-01 75 80 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01
Press Releases in the Internet: www.eustat.es
Databank: www.eustat.eus/bancopx/spanish/indice.aspx

Inglés
Product data

The GDP of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country registered an inter-annual growth of 4.1% in the first quarter of 2007

Operation : 
Quarterly economic accounts
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170115
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iii/2024
Last updated : 
05/21/2007
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01/16/2025
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