National Economy Records 4.8% Growth in the First Quarter of 2025
The national economy witnessed an improvement in its growth rate during the first quarter of 2025, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increasing by 4.8%, compared to only 3% during the same period in 2024, according to data from the High Commission for Planning.
The Commission attributed this improvement to a revival in non-agricultural activities by 4.6%, alongside a noticeable recovery in agricultural activity, which recorded a growth of 4.5%. They confirmed that domestic demand played a significant role in this growth, within an economic context characterized by stable inflation rates and a financing requirement for the economy limited to 2% of the GDP.
The secondary sector achieved a growth of 4.5%, up from 3.2% last year, driven by strong performance in the construction and public works sector (6.3%), as well as the electricity, gas, and water sectors (5%), along with manufacturing (3.4%). In contrast, growth in extractive industries declined from 19.1% to 6.7%.
The tertiary sector also showed positive development at 4.7%, compared to 3.8% last year, supported by growth in the hospitality and restaurant sectors (9.7%), education, health, and social work (6.2%), public administration services (5.3%), and commerce (4.3%). Real estate activity experienced a slight recovery of 0.8% following a period of decline.
Some activities within the tertiary sector slowed down, particularly transport and storage (4% compared to 6.5%), research, development, and consultancy services (3.9%), as well as the media and communication sector, which did not exceed 0.5%.
The primary sector rebounded by 4.3% after a similar decline in the same quarter last year, propelled by a 4.5% growth in agricultural activity, while fishing activities declined by 0.3%.
The GDP at current prices increased by 6.9%, compared to 6.8% last year, leading to a reduction in inflation to 2.1% from 3.8%.
Domestic demand continued its positive trajectory, recording a growth of 8%, up from 4% last year, contributing 8.5 points to the overall growth. Household final consumption expenditures rose by 4.4% (contributing 2.6 points), and gross investment jumped by 17.5% (contributing 4.9 points). However, public administration consumption expenditures slowed to 5.2%, contributing no more than 0.9 points.
Exports of goods and services fell from 5.8% to 2.2%, while imports rose by 9.8%, compared to 7.6% last year, resulting in a negative contribution from net external exchanges to growth of 3.8 points, compared to 1.3 points the previous year.
Total national disposable income increased by 6%, while the growth of national final consumption at 6.7% led to a decline in national savings to 26.8% of GDP, down from 27.6%. Conversely, the investment rate rose to 28.8%, reflecting a need to finance the economy limited to 2%.
These indicators reflect a positive shift in the dynamics of the national economy, supported by price stability and improved investment, despite the ongoing pressure from external exchanges.
