The recession was broad-based in Q4, with only a few areas sporting growth.

Robert Müürsepp, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that in the fourth quarter of 2022 the GDP at current prices increased by 11.9 percent. "At the end of the year, rapid inflation showed some signs of slowing, but the impact of inflation on economic growth was still similar to previous periods. After adjustment for inflation, there was a significant decrease in tax revenue as well as value added," Müürsepp explained.

Private spending fell by 1.9 percent for the lowest value since the first quarter of 2021 and government sector spending by 1.3 percent.

Müürsepp said that foreign trade was similarly affected by the prevailing downward trends. Exports fell by 6.5 percent. The growth rate of imports slowed down and was 3.3 percent. In trade in goods, both exports and imports decreased. Exports and imports were primarily influenced by trade in electricity, crude petroleum and natural gas, chemical products, and computers and electronic equipment. In trade in services, there was a modest fall in exports (−0.7 percent), while imports continued robust growth (15.7 percent) – here, trade in computer services and various transport services had the biggest impact.

In 2022 as a whole, the GDP decreased by 1.3 percent. The biggest positive contributor was accommodation and food service activities after recovering from the coronavirus crisis. Some other activities contributed positively to the GDP to a lesser degree. Major negative contributions to the GDP in 2022 came from real estate activities, the energy sector, trade, agriculture and financial activities.

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