Sweden’s economy actually grew in the first quarter after it opted against full lockdown

quote:

---

The Swedish economy expanded at a far superior rate than many of its European counterparts over the first three months of the year, data published Friday showed, following the government’s decision not to impose a full lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The Nordic country’s statistics office reported gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic health, grew at an annual rate of 0.4% in the first quarter. 

Sweden’s GDP increased by 0.1% in the first quarter, when seasonally adjusted and compared to the final three months of 2019. The median forecasters in a Reuters poll of economists had expected to see a 0.6% contraction on a quarterly basis.

---

quote:

---

To date, Sweden has reported 35,727 cases of the coronavirus, with 4,266 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

---