ANKARA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's economy outperformed market expectations, with a year-on-year growth of 4 percent in the first quarter, the Turkish Statistical Institute announced Wednesday.
This growth follows a 3.5 percent annual expansion in the final quarter of 2022. Economists surveyed by the Anadolu Agency had expected Türkiye's growth to be 3 percent on an annual basis in January-March.
Despite the negative impact of the massive Feb. 6 earthquakes, domestic demand played a significant role in achieving this growth.
Notably, household expenditures increased by 16.2 percent during the first quarter, and the construction sector recorded a noteworthy growth of 5.1 percent, its best performance in five years.
"Our country has succeeded in being the second highest growing country on an annual basis in the first quarter of the year among the EU and OECD countries whose data are disclosed," Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said on Twitter.
Despite this economic growth, Türkiye's purchasing power has been impacted by its high annual inflation rate, which reached a 20-year peak of 85.5 percent in October 2022. However, the annual inflation rate has started to ease, reaching 43.68 percent in April.
