Thailand's economy picked up speed in the first quarter of the year and registered its highest growth in three years, largely on the back of government spending and robust tourism, according to the Thai government's economic planning agency.

The country's gross domestic product increased 3.2% from a year earlier in the first quarter, compared with 2.8% growth in the last quarter of 2015, the National Economic and Social Development Board said Monday. Economists, according to a poll conducted by The Wall Street Journal, expected growth of 2.8%.

The first quarter reading is the highest in 12 quarters, board Secretary General Porametee Vimolsiri said.

On a sequential basis, Thailand's economy grew 0.9%, picking up pace from 0.8% quarter-over-quarter growth in the last three months of 2015, the report said. The quarter-over-quarter growth rate was better than the poll's median forecast of 0.6%.

The board attributed the accelerated growth to a 3.7% expansion in the non-agricultural sector, a 15.5% rise in tourist arrivals, an 8% surge in government spending and a 2.3% increase in private consumption.

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