The economy grew 0.5% in the third quarter of this year compared to the preceding quarter, according to the latest figure published by the national statistics office CBS on Wednesday.
An earlier CBS forecast for the third quarter announced in November put the growth at 0.4%.

The increase is the result of a slight rise in exports, consumer consumption and government spending in the third quarter.
The construction and agriculture sectors also performed better than expected, said the CBS. Financial institutions, on the other hand, did less well than initially forecast.
Compared with the third quarter of 2008, economic growth in July to September this year fell by 3.7%, in line with what the CBS announced in November.