According to a report by the LETA news agency on August 31, data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia shows that in the second quarter of 2015, Latvia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices reached 6.2 billion euros. After seasonal adjustment, the quarter-on-quarter growth was 1.2%, and before seasonal adjustment, the year-on-year growth was 2.7%.
In terms of production, before seasonal adjustment and compared to the same period last year, the industries with faster growth in the second quarter of 2015 included: financial and insurance activities (up 8.9%, accounting for 4.3% of GDP value-added, same below), accommodation and food service activities (up 7.8%, accounting for 1.8%), manufacturing (up 6.2%, accounting for 13%), arts, entertainment and recreation (up 5.1%, accounting for 2.2%), other service activities (up 4.4%, accounting for 3.8%), wholesale and retail trade (up 4.3%, accounting for 13.3%), education (up 4.2%, accounting for 5.2%), information and communication (up 4.1%, accounting for 4.6%), human health and social work activities (up 3.6%, accounting for 3.3%), and real estate activities (up 2.7%, accounting for 13%). Meanwhile, transportation and storage (accounting for 9%) fell by 4.3% year-on-year, and construction (accounting for 6%) fell by 3.4% year-on-year.
In terms of consumption, before seasonal adjustment and compared to the same period last year, at current prices, Latvia's private final consumption grew by 4% in the second quarter of 2015. Within this, household transport expenditure grew by 6%, recreation and culture expenditure grew by 12%, housing expenditure grew by 1%, and food expenditure remained at the same level as the previous year. At current prices, government expenditure grew by 6%, gross fixed capital formation grew by 5%, non-financial investment in transportation and storage grew by 3%, and non-financial investment in wholesale, retail, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles grew by 21%. However, non-financial investment in public administration, defense, and compulsory social security fell by 15%, and non-financial investment in manufacturing fell by 6%.
At current prices, both exports of goods and exports of services in Latvia grew by 4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2015, while imports of goods grew by 1% and imports of services grew by 8% year-on-year.
Among the three Baltic states, Latvia's economic growth in the first and second quarters was 1.9% and 2.7% respectively, both leading its neighbors Estonia (year-on-year growth of 1.1% and 1.9%) and Lithuania (year-on-year growth of 1.3% and 1.4%). (Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Embassy in Latvia)
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