Macroeconomic outlook report: Nordics

First quarter of 2022

During the first quarter of 2022, Denmark and Finland accelerated their economic growth while Norway and Sweden recorded a slight slowdown. Denmark recorded the highest GDP with a rate of 6.66%. In terms of inflation, Finland recorded the highest rate despite being below the OECD average. Regarding the labour market, all Nordic countries reported lower unemployment levels than in the previous quarter, apart from Sweden, with the Finnish labour market experiencing the largest decline.


Macroeconomic outlook report: Nordics 1Q22

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Macroeconomic summary

  • Denmark: In the first quarter, the Danish economy continued to recover, with GDP accelerating by 0.13 p.p. from the previous quarter and registering the highest GDP of the countries surveyed. Thus, the year-on-year change in GDP registered a positive growth of 6.66%. The inflation rate stood at 4.83%, 1.67 p.p. higher than in the previous quarter. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.10 p.p. to 4.40%.
  • Norway: Norway experienced a slight contraction in its economy of 1.03 p.p. compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, with its GDP standing at a year-on-year rate of change of 3.73%. On the other hand, it recorded an inflation rate of 3.80%, after experiencing a decrease of 0.83 p.p., no longer being the country with the highest inflation among the Nordic countries. The unemployment rate fell by 0.10 p.p. to 3.30%, the lowest of the four countries analysed.
  • Sweden: In the first quarter of 2022, the Swedish economy recorded a deceleration in its GDP growth rate of 2,50 p.p. compared to the previous quarter, registering a rate of 3.13%. The unemployment rate increased by 0.60 p.p. from the previous quarter to 8.10%, still the highest of the four countries. Inflation rose by 1.33 p.p. to 4.67%.
  • Finland: In terms of year-on-year GDP growth, Finland increased by 0.80 p.p. to 3.80%, the highest year-on-year growth rate of the four countries. The inflation rate continued to rise to 4.90%, the highest rate in the group. As for the labour market, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.37 p.p., with Finland registering a rate of 6.60%.

For more information, click here to access the executive document in pdf.