Boosted by exports and government spending, Slovenia's economic growth accelerated to an annual rate of 1.4% in real terms in the third quarter of the year after 0.7% growth in the previous quarter.

The seasonally-adjusted growth, which is a measure used across the EU, reached 1% year-on-year and 0.3% on the previous quarter, which puts it on a level comparable to those in the eurozone and the EU.

A fresh estimate by the Eurostat shows GDP increased by an average of 0.9% at annual level in the eurozone and by 1% in the entire EU, with the quarterly growth rates of 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

Releasing the results on 14 November, the Slovenian Statistical Office said the annual growth in January-September also reached 1.4% in real terms, close to the 1.5% forecast for entire 2024 by some international institutions following revisions.

Growth in Slovenia was somewhat slowed down by domestic expenditure, which dropped by 0.4% year-on-year in the third quarter, mainly as a result of a major 13.6% drop in capital gross formation.

However, foreign trade added 1.9 percentage points to the growth, as annual growth in exports reached 8.4%, while growth in imports reached 6.5%.

Construction of buildings saw the biggest drop in investment, at 14.5%, which was reflected in overall trends in the construction industry, which saw a 10.3% annual drop in activity.

Inventories also negatively affected GDP, shedding growth by 1.3 points.

Final consumption increased by 3.8% annually, with government expenditure expanding the most, at 9.1%, while household spending rose by 1.9%.

Manufacturing grew at at an annual rate of 5%, considerably more than in previous quarters.

Meanwhile, total employment fell slightly by 0.1% in the third quarter, in what is the first decline in a very long period.

Commenting on the figures, the government's economic forecaster IMAD said they were broadly in line with projections, with export data slightly above the expectations.

Meanwhile, the Slovenian central bank said growth continues to be constrained by cyclical cooling in construction and weak investment, announcing it will downgrade its current 2.5% GDP growth forecast for 2024 in December.