The Spanish economy grew by 1% in Q2 2015 thanks to consumption, investment and an improved performance from the external sector, according to final GDP data published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Year-on-year GDP growth stands at 3.1% compared with 2.7% in the previous quarter, accelerating the recovery path that began in the second half of 2013. And so the Spanish economy’s annual growth rate, the highest since Q4 2007, has returned to pre-crisis levels.

According to the INE report, the acceleration of the year-on-year GDP variation is due to a larger contribution from domestic demand (3.3 points compared with 3.1 points in the last quarter) and a lower negative contribution from external demand (-0.2 points compared with -0.4 points in the previous quarter).

The economy’s full-time equivalent employment registers a quarterly variation of 0.9%, one tenth higher than the last quarter. In annual terms, employment rose at a rate of 2.9%, one tenth more than in the first quarter, representing an increase of 477,000 equivalent full-time jobs in a year.

In addition, household consumption grew 1%, three tenths more than the previous quarter (0.7%), which means that it has been growing over the last nine quarters.

Regarding public spending, it grew by 0.4% qoq and 1% yoy in the second quarter, as it coincided with local and regional elections.