Government Consumption in Guatemala
The economy of Guatemala recorded an average growth rate of 1.4% from 2012 to 2022. In 2022, the government consumption growth surged to 7.2%.
Guatemala Government Consumption Chart
Note: This chart displays Government Consumption (ann. var. %) for Guatemala from 2018 to 2023.
Source: Macrobond.
Guatemala Government Consumption Data
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) | 2.3 | 1.0 | 4.6 | 7.2 | 3.3 |
GDP growth accelerates in the first quarter
The economy started the year on a stronger footing, with GDP expanding 3.3% year on year in the first quarter (Q4 2023: +2.0% yoy).
Domestically, the upturn was largely underpinned by faster household spending growth, which clocked a two-and-a-half-year high of 6.4% in the first quarter (Q4 2023: +4.7% yoy). Lower inflation in Q1 compared to the prior quarter, paired with a robust increase in remittance inflows, supported household budgets at the outset of 2024, in turn aiding private spending. Additionally, public spending slid at a milder rate of 1.7% in Q1 (Q4 2023: -9.5% yoy). Less positively, fixed investment growth moderated to 2.5% in Q1, following 6.2% recorded in the prior quarter. On the external front, exports of goods and services declined at a slower pace of 3.2% in Q1 (Q4 2023: -5.3% s.a. qoq). Meanwhile, imports of goods and services growth sped up to 13.2% in Q1 (Q4 2023: +11.3% yoy), marking the best performance in over two years.
Our panelists expect economic growth to have slowed mildly in the second quarter but forecast an overall robust expansion for 2024, chiefly underpinned by a rebound in exports of goods and services. Meanwhile, domestic demand is set to lose some steam compared to 2023 levels, driving GDP growth slightly below last year’s 3.5% and the prior-decade average of 3.6%.
Analysts at the EIU commented: “We expect inflows of remittances to remain strong over the remainder of 2024, underpinning our forecast for economic growth of 3.4% this year. The main risk to this forecast stems from weaker than expected growth in the US in the second half of the year.”
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Guatemalan government consumption projections for the next ten years from a panel of 7 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable government consumption forecast available for Guatemalan government consumption.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Guatemalan government consumption projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Guatemalan government consumption forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
Latest Global GDP News
-
A second release confirmed that GDP rose 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis in Q2, a less sharp expansion...
-
Qatar: Economy stagnates in Q4
According to a preliminary reading, GDP was stagnant year on year in the fourth quarter of 2023, below the upwardly... -
Latvia: GDP growth records best result since Q1 2023 in Q2
GDP growth picked up to 0.5% year on year in the second quarter, from 0.1% in the first quarter and... -
Czech Republic: GDP growth ebbs in Q2
The economy lost steam in the second quarter, with GDP growth inching down to 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter... -
Estonia: GDP falls at softest pace in over two years in Q2
GDP dropped at a slower rate of 1.0% year on year in the second quarter, above the 2.2% contraction tallied... -
Lithuania: Growth more than halves from Q1 in Q2
GDP growth waned to 1.3% year on year in Q2, from 3.0% in Q1, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data.... -
Belgium: GDP growth eases in Q2
Activity softened somewhat in Q2, with GDP expanding 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis (Q1: +0.3 s.a. qoq) and...