According to INDEC, GDP grew 5.8% in the first quarter, but the boost came from taxes.

GDP grew 5.8% in the first quarter of 2025, according to official data released by the National Institute of Statistics and Census ( INDEC ) . The report shows that the main contribution to growth was the increase in taxes net of subsidies , which increased 10.8% year-on-year. In contrast, some key productive sectors showed mixed results, with declines in public administration and households with domestic help.

Of the various sectors, the largest positive contribution to GDP was precisely that of taxes net of subsidies , with an impact of 1.83 percentage points. In contrast, public administration and defense had the greatest negative impact, with a 1.2% drop and an impact of -0.66 points.

In the demand analysis, gross fixed capital formation registered a strong increase of 31.8% year-on-year. Private consumption also showed signs of recovery, with a quarterly increase of 2.9% and a year-on-year increase of 11.6%. However, public consumption fell 0.8% year-on-year.

Among the sectors that boosted the economy, financial intermediation stood out, growing 27.2% year-on-year, and fishing , with an increase of 11.6%. The hotel and restaurant sector also registered a 9% increase. In contrast, private households with domestic service fell 2.2%, as did social and health services , which declined 0.6%.

The manufacturing industry grew 5.1%, while wholesale and retail trade increased 7.3%. Construction also grew 6.1%, and mining and quarrying grew 6.6%. In contrast, the community services sector declined 1.6%.

In terms of global supply, the economy grew 13% compared to the first quarter of 2024. This was explained by GDP growth and a sharp increase in imports , which rose 42.8%. In the monthly comparison alone, imports climbed 17.7%.

Although exports fell 1.5% monthly, they increased 7.2% year-over-year. Public consumption , meanwhile, registered a slight monthly decline of 0.1%. Thus, the economic recovery is sustained by factors that do not necessarily reflect a generalized improvement in production. The INDEC data was celebrated by President Javier Milei , although real growth in several key sectors remains uneven.