2023.03.0110:52:00UTC+00Estonia's GDP Contracts Most Since Q2 2020

Estonia's economy contracted for the third straight quarter in the three months ended December, and at the fastest pace in two-and-a-half years, preliminary figures from Statistics Estonia showed on Wednesday.

Gross domestic product decreased 4.1 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter, which was worse than the 2.9 percent fall in the third quarter.

Further, this was the steepest rate of contraction since the second quarter of 2020, when GDP had logged a negative growth rate of 5.74 percent.

In the fourth quarter, the recession was broad-based, with only a few economic activities experiencing growth, the agency said.

On the expenditure side, private consumption continued its downward trend in the December quarter, falling 1.9 percent. This was the lowest value since the first quarter of 2021.

Government consumption fell 1.3 percent from last year, while investments surged 13.1 percent, which set them apart from the overall trend.

Exports fell 6.5 percent, while the growth in imports eased to 3.3 percent.

According to seasonally adjusted data, the GDP decreased by 1.6 percent compared with the third quarter of 2022 and by 4.4 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2021.

During the year 2022, overall GDP contracted 1.3 percent compared with 2021. Major negative contributions to the GDP in the past year came from real estate activities, the energy sector, trade, agriculture, and financial activities.