S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The volatile conditions in the Arab market have resulted in surging inflation, averaging 84.3% last year. Subject to this high uncertainty, Lebanon\u2019s real GDP is projected to contract by a further 9.5% in 2021.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s capital city.<\/p>\n
Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank Mashreq Regional director, pointed out the brain drain that has taken place in Lebanon in recent year. \u201cLebanon 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,\u201d Jha was quoted as saying in the report.<\/p>\n