Lebanon GDP grows by 0.9% in 2013 and by 1.5% in 2014

The World Bank noted that the formation of the new government is a positive development for the Lebanese economy.  The executive summary of the said report entitled “Recession in a highly volatile environment” which will be released during the month of April notes that Lebanon will face additional challenges in view of the unstable security situation as well as the impact of the on-going war in Syria which has negatively affected the trust of both consumers and investors.
According to the report, the Syrian crisis continues to affect growth which is expected to be less than Lebanon’s potentials on the short run.  The report expects a 1.5% growth this year assuming quick solutions are found to ensure political stability in Lebanon with the possibility of improvement, even if minor, in the security situation. The same report notes that one of the impacts of the Syrian crisis is in reducing income from investment and the degradation of the tourism sector which is considered to be a key pillar of the Lebanese economic growth as well as a source of employment.  The financial, health and educational sector are expected to face additional challenges with the continuous influx of refugees.  This, in addition to long term political stagnation, has had a negative impact on macro economy in Lebanon as the actual growth of GDP has not exceeded 0.9% in 2013 which is the worst performance since 1999.
Source: Al-Mustaqbal 23 april 2014