Malta’s economy was among the hardest-hit across the EU between March and June of last year, figures released on Tuesday by Eurostat indicated.

The country’s economy shrank by 17.1 per cent during the second quarter of 2020, as the government shut down non-essential businesses and closed the country’s airport due to the spread of COVID-19. 

Only Spain, which saw its economy shrink by 17.9 per cent, was harder hit that quarter, the Eurostat figures show. 

The economy rebounded in the summer, growing by 12.7 per cent when compared to the previous quarter as flights resumed and businesses restarted. But that rebound was still anaemic when compared to the pre-COVID economy: despite the rebound, GDP was down 9.2 per cent during the summer months of 2020 when compared to the summer of 2019. 

That third-quarter rebound was reflected across the EU as a whole, with member state economies registering average growth of 11.5 per cent when compared to the second quarter. Average quarter-on-quarter growth was even higher within just the eurozone (+12.4  per cent). 

Eurostat figures, however, point to an EU-wide economic slowdown returning in the last three months of 2020: a flash estimate provided by the EU statistical agency showed that EU economies returned to negative growth during the fourth quarter of 2020, falling by 0.6 per cent in the eurozone and 0.4 per cent across the EU. 

Eurostat did not provide Q4 GDP data for Malta. 

While the figures show the dramatic impact of COVID-19 on the economy, the European Commission last week suggested brighter days lie ahead, with a 4.5 per cent growth forecast this year.

And by 2022, Malta's economy, along with Slovakia's, is predicted to expand by 5.4 per cent - the fastest growth in the EU.