Affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the UK saw its economy plummet to a record 9.9% in 2020, but it survived a downturn again at the end of last year and appears to be on its way to recovery in 2021.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (ONS), it was the largest annual return to gross domestic product (GDP) recorded since the introduction of data on the British economy.
Last year’s GDP decline was more than double the 2009 contraction caused by the financial crisis, and the largest since the start of modern official records after World War II.
Old historical data hosted by the Bank of England shows that it was the largest decline since 1709, when the country faced a “great frost”.
In the fourth quarter, however, the British economy grew by 1%, After coming out of the recession with 16.1% advance in the third quarter.
“As restrictions have been relaxed, we expect a strong recovery in the economy,” said UBS Global Wealth Management economist Dean Turner.
In January, as Watch the video belowThe British government announced an economic package of over £ 17 billion to £ 4 billion to help companies struggling due to the epidemic.
5 minutes Britain announced a package to help companies in crisis
Britain announced a package to help companies in crisis
In the UK, despite all the restrictions imposed by the government, the number of cases tripled in the month of December. Concerned about the health system overload, the British Prime Minister announced a new lockdown in England. To help the economy, Minister of Economy Rishi Sunak announced a package of over four billion pounds.
1 quarter further decline forecast
GDP increased by 1.2% in December after a 2.3% decline in November, When there was a partial lockdown that reduced the economy by 6.3% from its February level, before the onset of the epidemic, the British Statistical Office said.
However, the Bank of England predicted that the economy would shrink 4% in the first three months of 2021 due to a new lockdown and Brexit.
The central bank believes it will take until the beginning of 2022 for the British economy to regain its pre-pandemic size – assuming that vaccination continues smoothly. Many economists believe that it will take more time.
Finance Minister Rishi Sanak said, “Today’s figures show that the economy has suffered a deep setback due to the epidemic, which has been felt by countries around the world.”
“Despite some significant signs of the resilience of the economy during the winter, we see that the current imprisonment,” which continued in January and February and in which schools have closed, “continues to have a significant impact in many people and many companies,” she added.
The craze, which has suffered the largest debt since World War II, will establish how long the annual budget intends to continue with emergency aid in the 3 March.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) UK GDP increased 3.1% in 2021.
