The Dominican Republic’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) experienced a year-on-year growth of 12.3% in 2021 and 4.9% with respect to 2019, consolidating itself as the Latin American economy with a better evolution in real terms with respect to pre-pandemic levels, the country’s Central Bank has informed in a statement.
The Dominican monetary authority explained that the timely implementation of monetary and fiscal measures, in order to mitigate the impact of the health crisis, has been “crucial” for the recovery of the economy.
In this regard, the agency has highlighted the monetary stimulus plan carried out since the beginning of the pandemic, amounting to some 215 billion Dominican pesos (3.3 billion euros), which has been channeled through financial intermediaries to the productive sectors, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as households.
“The monetary measures implemented have benefited more than 92,000 credit users and fostered the dynamism of loans to the private sector in local currency, which expanded by around 11% as of December 31, 2021,” the central bank has highlighted.
In addition to the monetary actions, there were also those carried out in the fiscal area. Thus, the country’s government has accelerated public investment and spending in the health and education sectors, as well as in social programs with the aim of moderating the impact of the pandemic on jobs and household income.
By sector of activity, hotels, bars and restaurants experienced economic growth of 39.5%, while construction grew by 23.4% and production in free trade zones grew by 23.4% and 20.3%, respectively. Other sectors such as transportation and storage (12.9%), commerce (12.9%), local manufacturing (10.6%), other service activities (6.4%), and the energy and water sector (6%) also registered positive variations with respect to 2020.
Another relevant aspect that explains the momentum of the Dominican economy in 2021 is the intense flow of foreign currency into the country, which reached the historical figure of US$10,402.5 million (€92,066 million), 26.6% more than in 2020. This recovery of remittances is due to the recovery of the United States, where 83.2% of remittances come from.
