Turkey’s economy grew at a greater than expected pace in the first quarter, outperforming most large economies as coronavirus pandemic restrictions were careful not to temper hot retail sales, exports and manufacturing.

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 7% year-on-year and 1.7% from the previous quarter on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, data by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) showed Monday.

The economy was forecast to have grown by 6.7% in the January-March period, according to a Reuters poll. The median of 22 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey was for a 6.3% expansion.

The Turkish lira firmed as far as 8.48 to the dollar after the data, up nearly 1% from Friday’s closing level of 8.56.

Turkey grew faster than all the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members, and G-20 nations except for China in the first quarter.

The economy was one of only a few globally to expand last year as it grew by 1.8%.

Growth in the first quarter was driven by industrial production and other key sectors that have recovered well from the worst of coronavirus fallout last year.

It was also bolstered by robust consumption on the back of last year’s government-led push to cut interest rates and boost lending.

While new coronavirus measures were imposed at the end of last year, they did not impede manufacturing or other key sectors, and most were lifted in March.

By late April, a strict lockdown was imposed again.

"Of the 7% growth in the first quarter, 56% came from net foreign demand and investments. This is an indicator of balanced and healthy growth," Treasury and Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan said, evaluating the data.

"We will resolutely implement policies that create employment, improve income distribution and focus on stability," Elvan said on Twitter.

Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank stressed that the economy managed to register robust growth despite the outbreak, as he noted the role of the industry.

"The manufacturing industry, which grew by 12.2%, was the sector that contributed the most to the increase in GDP. Our goal is to expand in a healthy way by producing," Varank tweeted.

The country's GDP at current prices surged 29.1% to TL 1.4 trillion ($188.6 billion) in the first quarter, the data showed.

Below are some highlights from the GDP report: