Israeli economy shrunk in 2020, for the first time in 18 years, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday. The contraction amounted to 2.4% of the gross domestic product and was mostly due to the coronavirus pandemic, it noted.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The decrease, which was less dire than an original estimate between 3.3% and 3.7% offered at the beginning of the health crisis, marks the first time Israel's economy has contracted since 2002.
However, the contraction is one of the lowest on average for members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which stands at around 5.5%.
According to the Bank of Israel, steady economic growth should pick up again in 2021 if the pace of the coronavirus vaccination campaign is maintained, with an estimated growth of 6.3%.
Since mid-December, and thanks to a data-sharing agreement with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, the Jewish state has vaccinated more than 4 million people (more than 40% of its population), of which more than 2.6 million received a second dose, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
With a population of just over 9 million, more than 732,000 coronavirus cases have been confirmed since the start of the pandemic in March, including 5,423 deaths.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
