Portugal’s economy expanded by 2.8 percent in year-on-year terms in the first quarter of this year, its strongest quarterly growth in a decade, the Portuguese National Statistics Institute said yesterday.

The Reuters news agency reported that exports grew by 9.7 percent in the first quarter compared to the January-March period last year, while imports jumped 8 percent in the same period.

Domestic demand rose 2.2 percent in the first quarter, while the investment expanded by 5.5 percent.

The Portuguese economy is expected to grow by 1.8 percent this year, although some in the government have a suggested 2 percent growth may be possible.