GozoNews.Com

Provisional estimates for 2005 by the National Statistics Office indicate that Gozo’s contribution to national Gross Domestic Product at market prices is 6.2 per cent or Lm120.9 million.

Gross Value Added (GVA) for Malta grew by 3.8 per cent in 2005, while that for Gozo went up by 3.7 per cent. Service activities contributed positively towards Gozo’s GVA, whilst industry, including energy and construction, registered a decline.

Employment in industry, including energy and construction, declined in both regions.

The gross value added at basic prices for Malta stood at Lm1,565.8 million in 2005, an increase of 19.3 per cent over the 1999 figure. In Gozo, gross value added stood at Lm103.4 million, up by 18.5 per cent over the six-year period.

The share of Gozo’s contribution to the national agriculture and fishing sector amounted to 15.2 per cent in 2005, confirming Gozo’s higher dependence on this primary sector compared to the mainland.

In industry, over a six-year period, activity peaked in Malta in 2000, due to the electronics sub-sector, and then dropped to reach Lm357.0 million in 2005. In Gozo, gross value added increased between 1999 and 2003, but then, contrary to Malta, dropped for two consecutive years.

Gozo’s share of industry was estimated at 5.3 per cent in 2005.

With regard to service activities, gross value added is increasing in both regions, with Gozo’s share of all services on the islands estimated at 6.1 per cent in 2005.

Overall, employment in both regions went up in 2005. However, employment figures in industry have been declining for four consecutive years, with Gozo registering the larger drop. On the other hand, employment in the primary sector and in the services sector activities went up.