Malta Economy Should Out Perform the European Average

 

 

 

Though the economic growth of Malta has slowed down when compared to last year, the Maltese economy is still expected to outperform the average in the EU27. This is according to a report from the European Commission for Economic and Financial Affairs which was published late last week.

The data shows that the economy in the European Union is currently in a mild recession and will likely contract by about -0.3% of the GDP by the close of 2012. However, for Malta, that forecast is not exactly true. By the end of 2012, the Maltese economy is expected to grow by 1.2% of the GDP and has a 2.0% increase expected throughout 2013.

Other information from the Commission includes positive forecasts in other areas of the Maltese economy as well. Inflation is expected to remain at about 2.0% through the rest of 2012 which is also lower than the EU average of 2.4%. There is also an expectation of increases in both imports and exports. However, not all of the news is rosy. The Commission is also expecting a slowdown when it comes to tourism for Malta compared to last year and are also expecting employment to slow down to 0.6%. In 2011, the employment rate was 2.4%.

When it comes to the finances of the government more debt is expected for Malta. Though the Commission agrees that the efforts of the government to lower the deficit to 2.6% of the GDP, debt for the island is expected to reach about 74.8% which is an increase of about 2.8% from 2011. According to the Commission, both the debt and deficit outcomes should be a bit higher especially due to the restructuring efforts of Air Malta. Other things that should be having an impact include the financial situation of Enemalta and the renewal of the public service wage agreement.

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