The figures beat the expectations of analysts polled by the Dow Jones Newswire who had expected growth of 0.6 percent in the quarter and 4.9 percent on an annual basis.
Household consumption expenditures rose by 2.3 percent,w hile gross fixed capital formation increased by 8.1 percent.
In addition, exports increased 7.8 percent and imports 5.8 percent.
Total employment, measured as the number of hours worked, increased 1.8 percent while the number of employed persons increased 2.5 percent.
Sweden’s new GDP growth figures are slightly higher than those expected by the Riksbank and in line with the expectations of Nordea bank, according to a statement by Nordea analyst Andreas Jonsson.
Export figures were also somewhat stronger than Nordea expected, while investment was somewhat lower.
“This speaks to our assessment that the Riksbank will continue with their austerity policies,” said Nordea.
In the first quarter of 2011, Sweden reported an annual growth rate of 6.4 percent, one of the highest in Europe.
Without taking into account seasonal variations, the year-on-year growth of the Gross Domestic Product was 4.8 percent, the statistics office said.
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