The International Monetary Fund predicts that the economic recession will reach 9% in Lebanon in 2021 against 25% last year. It will be the only country in the region affected by a recession in its economy.
This figure converges with that of the World Bank which forecasts an estimated growth rate of 9.5% for this year.
In question, the measures taken to contain the epidemic of COVID19 but also the difficulties of the banking sector unable to revive economic activity and political uncertainties. The service sector and commercial activities are heavily impacted by the first 2 factors.
In addition, the IMF recalls that the number of arrivals and departures has fallen sharply. The only improvement is the number of goods in transit at the Port of Beirut increased by 14.2% over a period of one year despite the explosion on August 4.
Finally, last bad news, the IMF notes that the inflation rate has reached 148.9% since March 2019, in local currency.
