CBS Revised the Growth Rate of Nepal

CBS Nepal has revised the growth rate of Nepal for 2019/20 on March 4, 2021. According to the revised estimates, the economy contracted by 1.88 percent at producer's price (by 1.99 percent at basic prices) in 2019/20 which is about 4 percentage points lower than the estimates released in April 2020.  

In the previous year, economic growth rate stood at 6.66 percent. The contraction of the economy shows that COVID-19 has severe impact on economic activities in the country. 

Accommodation and food service activities, transport, trade and manufacturing experienced the worst impact of the crisis. In 2019/20, output of accommodation and food service activities contracted by 25.7 percent followed by transport and storage (13.4 percent), and trade (10.7 percent).  

On a quarterly basis, GDP contracted by 15.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019/20. This is due to the restrictive measures adopted by the government of Nepal to contain the spread of corona virus. Even in the first quarter of 2020/21, the economic activities have not returned to normal. Quarterly GDP in the first quarter contracted by 4.5 percent. 

Siddha Raj Bhatta