Cyprus economy recovering from COVID

Cyprus’ economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, as data shows that GDP in the first nine months has grown faster than expected.

According to data released by CyStat, the economy grew by 5.4% in the third quarter of 2022, compared to 6.3% in Q2 and 5.9% in Q3 of 2019.

GDP stood at €18.08 bln, recording an increase of €1.036 bln compared to the nine months of 2021 and €1.285 mln compared to 2019.

The growth rate is mainly down to the sectors of Hotels and Restaurants, Transport and Storage, Information and Communications, Trade, Arts, Entertainment and Entertainment.

The trade sector, including hotels and restaurants, showed an increase of 15.5% annually.

Its contribution to the economy was €3.43 bln, up from €2.97 bln, recording an increase of €461.2 mln in one year.

Compared to 2019, the sector shows a decrease of €239.2 mln.

The construction sector contributed €1.09 bln, a decrease of €23.4 mln compared to 2021 and a decrease of €5.1 mln compared to 2019.

Financial and insurance activities are increased by €66.5 mln; since 2019, the increase is €449.8 mln.

The professional, scientific, and technical activities sector contributed €1.78 bln, up from €1.72 bln in 2021 and €1.68 bln in 2019.

Despite strong growth in Q3, the economy is expected to slow in the last quarter of 2022 due to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and a spike in inflation.

According to Brussels, growth is expected to decline significantly due to the global economic slowdown, rising interest rates and upward price pressures, especially for energy.

According to local forecasts, slower economic growth is also expected in the coming months.

The Centre for Economic Research of the University of Cyprus estimates real GDP growth in 2023 at 2.4%, down by 0.4 percentage points relative to the forecast in July.

It forecasts GDP to grow by 4.9% in 2022.