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GDP output loses €1.1 billion in 2020 amid Covid crisis

03/03/2021 06:15

Cyprus GDP lost €1.1 million in 2020 with economic activity severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing restrictions that impacted economic activity while tourism is taking the heaviest blow.

According to new data released by the Statistical Service of Cyprus, the Cypriot economy shrank by 5.1% in 2020 in seasonally adjusted terms over 2019, with only the first quarter recording annual growth as the Covid-19 pandemic in Cyprus began in March.

According to Cystat provisional estimates, in current prices, real GDP in 2020 declined to €21,000.3 mn at current prices compared to €22,287.0 million.

According to Cystat’s seasonally adjusted data, the economic output in Cyprus in 2020 amounted to €20,527 million in 2020 compared with €21,632 million the year before.

From €5.44 billion in the first quarter, the Cypriot GDP declined to €4.72 billion in Q2 with the economy recovering some of the lost output as GDP rose to €5.14 billion in Q3 while it rose albeit with a slower pace in Q4 to €5.22 billion.

On an annual basis, the Cypriot GDP rose by 1.4% in the first quarter, while it plunged by 12.6% in the second quarter, reflecting an almost two-month lockdown in March and April and the closing of Cyprus airports that decimated the tourist sector.

In the third quarter the annual GDP contraction was contained to 4.7% reflecting the gradual lifting of restrictions and the return of economic activity, while annual growth in the fourth quarter amounted to -4.5%, reflecting regional lockdowns in Limassol and Pafos in November and a total lockdown in December.

On a quarterly quarterly basis, the Cyprus GDP marked a decline of 0.5% in seasonally adjusted terms, followed by a sharp reduction of 13.1% in the second quarter, reflecting the two-month lockdown in March and April, while in the third quarter economic output rebounded to 8.9% reflecting the gradual lifting of restrictions.

However the economy could not maintain the momentum in the fourth quarter which decelerated to 1.4% compared with the previous quarter, as authorities imposed a regional lockdown in Limassol and Pafos in November while an island-wide lockdown was imposed in December.

According to Cystat, the negative GDP growth rate is mainly attributed to the sectors "Hotels and Restaurants", "Manufacturing", "Transport, Storage and Communication", "Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles", "Arts, Entertainment and Recreation", "Other Service Activities".