The Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) reports that, according to the Quarterly National Accounts, Ecuador’s economy expanded by 2.1% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025. This performance was primarily driven by the strength of household consumption and investment, which boosted economic activity through domestic demand.
Final household consumption increased by 3.9%, reflecting stronger demand for food products and services. Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) grew by 12.8%, supported by the construction industry and higher imports of machinery, motor vehicles, and transport equipment. In the external sector, exports rose by 1.7%, driven by increased shipments of processed shrimp and minerals, while imports increased by 11.1%, mainly due to higher purchases of raw materials and capital goods from abroad.
Across industries, 16 of the 20 economic sectors recorded growth compared with the first quarter of 2025. The largest contributions came from financial and insurance activities (12.0%), wholesale and retail trade (2.2%), professional, scientific, and administrative activities (4.5%), oil and mining (4.0%), human health and social work activities (6.4%), and food manufacturing (3.2%).
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.0% compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. This result reflected stronger domestic demand, as household consumption increased by 1.4% and GFCF by 9.6%, offsetting the 5.8% decline in exports resulting from weaker international demand for cocoa.
At the sectoral level, 12 of the 20 industries posted positive performance relative to the previous quarter. The strongest growth was recorded in construction, financial and insurance activities, professional services, and fishing and aquaculture, consistent with higher investment and stronger domestic economic activity.
This publication presents the results for the first quarter of 2026 without revisions to previously released quarterly figures, in accordance with the Central Bank of Ecuador’s Disclosure and Revision Policy.
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