The economy shrank to -5% in 2020, refuting the predictions they made for a deeper recession due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cypriot economy returned to negative growth rates after five consecutive years of GDP growth. 2020, however, was marked by two consecutive months of general Lockdown in the economy, restrictive measures that resulted in many sectors of the economy underperforming, while tourism suffered a huge blow with arrivals recording a decrease of 84% for the whole of 2020.
According to preliminary data released today by the Statistical Service, the growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2020 was -4.5% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2019. After the correction of GDP in terms of seasonal fluctuations and working days, the growth rate is also estimated at -4.5%.
For the whole of 2021, the growth rate is -5.05%, while after the correction in terms of seasonal fluctuations and working days, the growth rate is -5.09%, exceeding the estimates that wanted a larger contraction.
The Ministry of Finance estimated that the rate of contraction of the economy would be -5.5%, the European Commission at -5.8 %%, the International Monetary Fund -6.4%, the Central Bank -6.2% and the The Center for Economic Research of the University of Cyprus estimated that the contraction would reach -5.7%.
Quarterly growth for the second consecutive quarter
According to the Statistical Service, compared to the third quarter of 2020, the growth rate (seasonally adjusted data) amounted to 1.4% compared to growth of 8.9% in the third quarter of 2020.
It is noted, however, that consumption in December was negatively affected by increased restrictive measures such as the closure of shopping malls and shops and restaurants.
Ministry of Finance for GDP data in Cyprus for 2020
Eurostat today released the actual data for the growth rate and the fourth quarter of 2020. The actual data show that the contraction of GDP in Cyprus for the whole of 2020 is of the order of 5.1%, significantly lower than any forecasts had been made. during the year. The reduction of the Cypriot GDP for 2020 is also significantly smaller compared to the Eurozone as a whole (-6.8%) and the European Union (-6.4%).
The factual facts now confirm both the effectiveness of the government's support policies for companies and employees and the resilience of the Cypriot economy.
It is worth noting that the growth rate of Cyprus GDP in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter was 1.4%, which is the third best growth rate in the Eurozone, which as a whole recorded a negative growth rate of -0 , 6%.
The challenges of managing the pandemic are still ahead of us and they are great, the problems in the market are real. There is still uncertainty both in the rate of vaccination that is crucial for the economy and in the fluctuation of the pandemic.
The Government will continue to support the economy by all means, and in this it seeks the cooperation of all. From now on, the attitude of responsibility of all of us towards the observance of the protocols will play a decisive role in the financial management. In this way, we will collectively lay the foundations for a strong recovery in the near future.
Philenews / ΚΥΠΕ
