The Maltese Economy is Growing at three times the EU Average.
In this article, we will analyse the country’s growth rate in the first half of 2019.
The economy of Malta expanded by 4.7% in the first half of 2019, and that means the country has managed to maintain the high growth rate of the past half-decade. In this period, the nominal gross domestic product expanded by 7.3%.
We can break down the growth of the GDP in the first half of the year. In the first quarter of 2019, the economy grew by 5.4%, and in the second, it expanded by 4.0%.
The overall year-on-year GDP expansion in the first half of the year was also three times the rate recorded in the European Union. In the region, the average year-on-year growth rate was 1.4%, and in that period, the economy of the Euro Zone expanded by 1.1%.
The Maltese finance minister, Edward Scicluna, noted that the country intends to craft a budget that will help to maintain its GDP expansion rate. This way, he said, the Maltese and Gozitan societies will be able to raise their qualities of life.
The growth of the economy was also noted in the salaries and gains reported by businesses in the first half of 2019. In this period, salaries grew by 140 million euros, and business gains grew by 269 million euros.
In the first quarter of 2019, economic growth was primarily boosted by internal demand. This was also seen in the reduced unemployment rate and the steady growth of compensation rates. The net exports also helped to increase the country’s GDP.
GDP expansion in Malta still has a wide base since the country recorded expansions in the gross value added in various industries. The gross value added increased to about 140 million euros. This expansion was recorded in both the manufacturing and service industries.
Double-figure expansion rates were noted in the research-based, executive, practical, management, customer service, and property sectors. More private industries that recorded expansions included creative sectors, amusement sectors like online gambling, the media, finance sectors, and insurance sectors.
It is also important to note the 6.3% expansion in the large-scale and small-scale trade industries. Gross value added in the industrial sector was 2.7%.
