Romania's healthy Q1 economic growth propels country to second position in the EU, statistics show.

Romania ranks second in the European Union after Slovakia, with a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 8.2 percent for the first quarter, reads the estimate published today by EU's statistics body, Eurostat.

Lithuania came third, its GDP growth being revised upwards from 6.7 percent in the previous estimate to 6.8 percent. The block's average growth rate was 2.3 percent.

At the EU level, the statistics body revised downwards both the GDP growth in the first quarter against the similar period last year from 2.5 to 2.3 percent and the growth compared to the last quarter, from 0.8 to 0.7 percent.

Eurostat also revised downwards the economic growth estimate for this first quarter in the Eurozone, against the similar period last year from 2.2 percent to 2.1 percent. But compared to the last quarter of the previous year, the Eurozone GDP rose with 0.7 percent versus the initial estimate of 0.8 percent.

Slovenia registered the fastest economic advance in the Eurozone, with 5.7 percent as compared to the first three months of 2007, followed by Cyprus (3.9 percent), Greece (3.6 percent) and Malta (3.5 percent).

U.S. and Japan, EU's most important partners, registered a year-on-year economic increase of 2.5 respectively 1.3 percent. The two states had a GDP growth of 0.2 and 1 percent against the last quarter of 2007.

Household expenditures in the first quarter of 2008 increased with 0.3 percent against the last quarter, investments rose 1 percent, exports were up 2 percent and imports 1.7 percent.