World Bank says that the Maldives’ recovery continues as tourism rebounded and targeted containment measures helped minimize the economic impacts of the recent waves of COVID-19.
However it said that the recovery remains fragile and uneven and the Maldives, like many countries, is far from pre-pandemic trend levels, says the World Bank in its twice-yearly regional update.
World Bank said that the latest South Asia Economic Focus titled Shifting Gears: Digitization and Services-Led Development projects the Maldives’ economy to grow by 22.3 percent in 2021, largely reflecting base effects, and by 11 percent in 2022.
It said that this forecast assumes that borders remain fully open with at least 1.1 million tourists expected to visit the islands in 2021, double the amount recorded in 2020, 65 percent of 2019 levels.
The statement from world's top bank said that arrivals are expected to pick up steadily as global travel normalizes, driving real GDP to recover to 2019 levels by 2023.
The poverty rate is expected to decline to 9.1 percent in 2021 and subsequently to 4.3 percent by 2023.
The World Bank said that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation that was already underway in the Maldives, thanks to relatively high broadband and mobile internet penetration in the country.
It said that about 63 percent of the population used the Internet in 2019, a higher proportion than in other South Asian countries and peers outside the region.
World Bank said to leverage the digital dividend, Maldives needs to address policy, legal, and regulatory gaps that currently inhibit the adoption of digital technologies.
It said that the country also needs to boost Maldivians’ digital capabilities and skills to ensure that all Maldivians can take advantage of new technologies in an increasingly digital world.
