2004 GDP - 4.2% growth

The Central Bureau of Statistics ( CBS) reported last week that Israel's GDP rose by 4.2% in 2004. The CBS said in an end of year statement that the GDP was slightly higher than previously forecasted.
 
The CBS added that in 2004 the GDP more than triple the growth in 2003. Business product rose 6%, compared with 1.7% last year. GDP totaled NIS 525.4 billion in 2004. GDP per capita rose 2.4%, after contracting 0.5% in 2003, and 7% during the first three years of the intifada.
 
The 2004 GDP per capita reached NIS 77,000, or $17,200. Comparative study based on published figures show that Israel's growth rate is higher than the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average. Israel's growth rate is higher than in France and Germany, but less than in the US and Japan. Exports in 2004 rose 14% to $50 billion, led by leading high-tech sectors. Imports, however, rose by 12.5%. Unemployment for the year was estimated to have gone down to 10.4%. Unemployment had recently fallen to 10.1%.
 
Preliminary projections indicate, however, that unemployment rate will fall below 10% in 2005, to 9.5-9.9%. Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed, in a press release, the CBS published figures. Mr. Netanyahu added that according to his expectations even better, results can be achieved for 2005, provided that the government maintains its economic policies as planned, including restricting government spending, continuing tax cuts, and consistently carrying out reforms and structural changes. Economic sources in Jerusalem point out that the CBS growth estimates are about 0.2% higher than the 4% estimate published in early October.
 
The Economic sources who examined the figures believed that the final CBS figures, to be published in March 2005, will indicate growth of at least 4.4%, and maybe even exceed 4.5%. The economic sources emphasized that the upward revision of growth estimates is partly due to safety factors adopted by the CBS's calculations. Hence, final growth estimates are usually 0.4% - 0.5% higher than preliminary estimated figures.