All the major economies except China plunged into recession in 2020 due to the outbreak and impact of COVID-19 pandemic. However, with supportive measures from the governments and with the distribution of vaccines gathering pace lately, all countries are expected to recover in 2021 with Asia leading this recoup race, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
According to GlobalData’s ‘The Road to Economic Recovery’ report, China will drive the global economic recovery in 2021. It was the first country to experience a COVID-19 outbreak and the first to reopen, giving its economy a head start on the road to recovery. South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia and India are the other Asian countries with a strong economic prospect.
Nicklas Nilsson, Senior Analyst of Thematic Research at GlobalData, comments “In 2021, China is expected to account for 27% of global economic growth, more than twice as much as the US, putting it back on track to overtake the US as the world’s largest economy. The country is likely to see a shift from government-fuelled infrastructure investment to pent-up demand and corporate investment in 2021.”
Nilsson continues: “Asian nations responded swiftly to the pandemic. South Korea emerged as an early success story in containing the virus, basing its approach on an extensive test and trace strategy. The effective response has been shaped by lessons learned from the MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreaks. Malaysia introduced its first economic stimulus in the end of February 2020, along with strict lockdown measures. Japan has committed to the largest stimulus package as a percentage of GDP.”
Swati Verma, Associate Project Manager of Thematic Research at GlobalData, concludes: “India is expected to witness the highest GDP growth rate in 2021 among the major economies. Rising demand for goods and services and a revival of key economic sectors is expected to result in a V-shaped recovery. It has already embarked on its mass vaccination drive from mid-January 2021 which is likely to revive major sectors such as transportation, hospitality and entertainment services. India’s manufacturing sector ended 2020 on a bright note while the service industry lost some steam.”
Source: GlobalData
