São Paulo – The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Lebanon contracted by 20.3% in 2020, the World Bank estimated. The institution released a report on Tuesday (1). GDP per capita fell by around 40% in dollar terms in 2020.
The report stresses that Lebanon is enduring a severe and prolonged economic depression. For the World Bank, the financial crisis in the Arab country is likely to rank in the top 10 most severe crises episodes globally since the mid-nineteenth century.
The volatile conditions in the Arab market have resulted in surging inflation, averaging 84.3% last year. Subject to this high uncertainty, Lebanon’s real GDP is projected to contract by a further 9.5% in 2021.
In addition to its largest peace-time economic and financial crisis, over the last 18 months, Lebanon has faced the COVID-19 pandemic and the explosion in the Port of Beirut, the nation’s capital city.
Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank Mashreq Regional director, pointed out the brain drain that has taken place in Lebanon in recent year. “Lebanon faces a dangerous depletion of resources, including human capital, and high-skilled labor is increasingly likely to take up potential opportunities abroad, constituting a permanent social and economic loss for the country,” Jha was quoted as saying in the report.
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In addition to this emigration wave, more than half the population is likely below the national poverty line, the World Bank stressed. With the unemployment rate on the rise and surging inflation, an increasing share of households is facing difficulty in accessing basic services, including health care.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
