Asia Regional Integration Center

GDP contracted by 1.2% in 2019 after growing by 2.9% in 2018. Civil unrest and the global economic slowdown left investment sentiment, private consumption, and tourism-dependent businesses all anemic. Domestic demand weakened significantly from declines in private consumption and fixed investment, which led to a 1.1% contraction in real terms. Exports fell 4.7% in real terms, while imports decreased more sharply at 6.8%. However, net exports proved positive, adding 2.3 percentage points to growth. Meanwhile, government consumption grew 5.1%, adding 0.5 percentage points to growth, on new and higher allocations for public services. On the supply side, most sectors weakened. The exceptions were information and communications technology, which expanded by 5.4%; and real estate, professional, and business services, which grew by 1.4%. GDP is forecast to contract further by 3.3% in 2020, following domestic unrest, trade tensions, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.