According to seasonally and calendar-adjusted and reconciled data, the volume of gross domestic product increased by 3.7% compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the stats office added.
Compared to the preceding quarter (Q4 2016), GDP was up by 1.3% in Q1.
The consensus forecast of analysts was for 3.5% growth, notes Hungarian news agency MTI. The growth is the highest since the second quarter of 2014, when a figure of 4.5% was registered, and is also the highest first-quarter figure since 2006.
MTI notes that the effects of EU subsidies appear to have been felt in the Q1 growth.
MTI also notes that the construction sector showed 24.7% growth in the first three months of the year, compared to the low base in Q1 2016.