The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) revealed last week that Israel's gross domestic product is likely to see an increase of 3.4% this year and that Israel's GDP (gross domestic product) will rise above the NIS 1 trillion mark for the first time.
The CBS noted that the projected growth rate is exactly the same as the rate last year, and much lower than the growth rate of 4.6% in 2011 and 5.7% in 2010.
Moreover, the CBS said yesterday it revised its growth figures for the first half, cutting the second-quarter pace of expansion to 4.9% from a previous estimate of 5.1%.
Business sector GDP – which excludes housing services, government and non-profit organizations, would expand 3.5% this year, a slight increase over 2012's 3.4%.
Based on international comparisons, Israel's economy is doing rather well.
The projected average growth rate for countries belonging to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) is just 1.2%.
Euro bloc economies are forecast to contract by 0.6% this year. The year before, average growth for OECD countries was 1.4%, and the euro bloc contracted by 0.5%.
