Libya has ranked last amongst countries as the worst economic performer this year, surpassing Venezuela and Lebanon.
The British newspaper ‘The Telegraph’ reviewed a list of countries with the best and worst performing economies in 2020, in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic and its economic repercussions on the world.
It pointed out that Libya’s civil war, global oil price crash, and the pandemic all conspired to give the Libyan economy the toughest year of all. Its economy collapsed by two-thirds this year according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) estimates. This is almost exactly the same drop as the nation suffered in the 2011 civil war. GDP more than doubled in 2012, plunged by more than one-third in 2013 and a further 53% in 2014. This volatility is forecasted to turn into a boom of more than 70% next year, and more than 50% in 2022 from an extremely low base.
Any form of recovery is highly dependent on resolving the current conflict, and ending the pandemic.