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Surprise! Israeli GDP grew by 4.1% in 2008 By Moti Bassok Tags: israel news, economy, GDP Despite the grim business pages in recent months, in fact the year 2008 was a good one for Israel's economy. Preliminary estimates by the Central Bureau of Statistics place the growth of Israel's gross domestic product at 4.1% in 2008. That is a respectable figure, even if lower than the brisk 5.4% pace achieved in 2007. Broken down by half-year periods, however, the picture of a slowing economy is striking. First-half growth was 4.9%, says the stats bureau, but during the second six-month period the pace tumbled to 1.8%. (All figures are in annualized terms.) Gross domestic product per capita rose to NIS 97,900 (which is about $27,300), an increase of 2.2% compared with the year 2007. In the nations constituting the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which Israel aspires to join, by the way, the average increase in GDP per capita was 0.8% in 2008. Advertisement Of course, the question now is 2009, for which estimates of growth vary widely. At this point the Bank of Israel is predicting GDP growth of 1.5% while I.B.I. is predicting 2.1%. Both would constitute negative growth per capita, which means population growth would outpace economic growth. Israel's gross domestic product amounted to nearly NIS 716 billion in 2008, compared with NIS 674 billion the year before. Another figure shows just how unnerved consumers have become. Expenditure on private consumption increased by 3.9% in 2008, says the Central Bureau of Statistics, after growing by 6.7% the year before. After factoring in population growth, expenditure on private consumption increased by 2% in 2008. Sellers of refrigerators possibly suffered less than food retailers, it would seem. Breaking down private consumption expenditure by sector shows that expenditures on durable goods increased by 7% in the year 2008 while spending on food and clothing increased by a lesser 2%. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Israelis targeted abroad Gunman opens fire on Israelis working at shopping mall in Denmark. Iran silences dissent Newspaper forcibly shut down after article blaming Hamas for Gaza violence.

Read & React IDF recommends major, but brief Gaza ground offensive Responses: 97 Ari Shavit: Israelis who blame Israel are not helping Palestinians Responses: 94 Roi Ben-Yehuda: Pro-Israel camp would be wise to heed Muslim cries for peace Responses: 39 Israel Harel: Like it did in Lebanon, Israel blinked first in Gaza Responses: 41 Poll: Majority of Israelis support continuing military operations in Gaza Responses: 36 Haniyeh: Palestinian victory in Gaza is near Responses: 70 More Headlines 01:02 IAF bombs Gaza mosque used as terror hub 01:01 Egypt FM: Hamas gave Israel the excuse to launch Gaza attacks 22:23 Livni: Cease-fire in Gaza would grant Hamas legitimacy 23:11 Barrage of Gaza rockets strikes Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod 23:24 Not just air strikes: Israel takes the fight to Arab media 22:44 Danish police arrest Palestinian on suspicion of shooting Israelis at shopping mall 15:02 Israelis who blame Israel are not helping the Palestinians 13:27 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 15:03 Poll: Most Israelis support continuing Gaza military op 15:01 Like in Lebanon, in Gaza Israel blinked first 18:34 Tel Aviv, Rishon Letzion prepare bomb shelters in case of attack 13:57 AMIRA HASS / Thousands of Gazans near Rafah displaced by IAF bombing of tunnels 18:00 12 Palestinians hurt in Gaza fighting being treated in Israeli hopsitals 17:59 Czech FM: Finding Gaza truce is a 'main role' of the EU Previous Editions Select Day 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 22 dec 21 dec 19 dec

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