Growth Rate Ranking
According to the OECD, South Korea recorded an economic growth rate of 0.9% in the first quarter of this year after 0.5% in the previous quarter. During the same period, the average economic growth rate of OECD member countries dropped from 0.7% to 0.4%. The member countries’ average growth rate had been 0.4% in Q1 and Q2, 2016 and 0.5% in the following quarter.
The OECD recently provided data on the Q1 economic growth rates of 25 countries. 12 out of them showed an increase in quarter-on-quarter growth rate unlike the rest. Britain’s fell from 0.7% to 0.2% and the United States’ fell from 0.5% to 0.3% between Q4, 2016 and Q1, 2017.
The increase in South Korea’s economic growth rate can be attributed to an increase in exports based on improving trade conditions, which allowed companies to invest and produce more.
According to the Bank of Korea, South Korea’s total exports edged down by 0.1% in Q4, 2016 but increased by 1.9% in Q1 this year, when its capital expenditure and construction investment jumped by 4.3% and 5.3%, respectively. Last month, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said that the central bank may adjust its national economic growth forecast for this year upward from 2.6%.