The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expected in its most recent economic report, that Jordan would record a 2.5% decrease in GDP in 2020 due to the contraction of the world’s tourism and trade sectors as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, and that it would witness a recovery in GDP in 2021 to record 3 percent.
According to the report entitled "The Regional Economic Outlook of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development", the recovery of the Jordanian economy will be achieved thanks to the low cost of imported energy resources, the increase in financing for small and medium-sized companies, and the reforms stipulated in the new program supported by the International Monetary Fund.
The bank is revealing risks to the outlook for recovery as a result of the lack of competitiveness, instability in the region and the rapid recovery of partner economies.
The bank expected the region’s economies to contract by 0.8% in 2020 before resuming recovery with growth of 4.8% in 2021. It is expected that the economies of Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia will witness a contraction this year, while Egypt is expected to record a small growth rate of no more than 0.5%. As for Lebanon, which was already suffering from recession in 2018 and 2019, it is expected to witness a particularly sharp decline of 11% in 2020.
Source (Al-Dustour Newspaper-Jordan, Edited)