EU’s prediction for Malta is to rank first in 2022’s Economic Growth
Highest GDP growth forecasted for Malta in 2022
The European Commission has issued its bi-annual report where it is forecasting that Malta will have the highest economic growth of all countries this year. Malta is expected to hit a 6% GDP increase by mid-2022, a 2% more than the average of all EU countries.
During the 2020 pandemic year, Malta’s real GDP declined to -8.2% but it was steadily recovered by the end of last year with a sharp increase of 5.9%. The Winter 2022 Economic Forecast report predicts a continuous inclination in the local economic growth, despite the turbulent times endured in the last months of 2021, when the Omicron variant hit strongly the islands and many other countries in the EU. This wave brought along the highest surges in infections in a very short period of time, which left many sectors idle due to precautionary quarantine measures and prioritizing the health care system. Despite the last few months, Malta’s economy is now recovering successfully while superseding the pre-pandemic economy levels. The report says "Malta is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels of economic activity around mid-2022," The EU is projecting that all countries reach their target by the end of 2022.
After the winter slowdown, the domestic demand is increasing and the business is regaining traction following a number of negative factors that affected the Country’s whole economy. A considerable lack of materials and equipment was experienced in the local manufacturing, together with the labour shortage evidently seen in the tourism and hospitality sectors. These sectors serve as key pillars to the Maltese economic structure and play a significant role in the recovery of the Maltese economy and further growth. It reports that “After increasing to 2.1% in 2022, inflation is expected to be at 1.9% in 2023”.
The report additionally observes how the Maltese government is committed to continuing working on limiting energy prices during this year.
