President highlights Chile's 12-pct economic growth in 2021-Xinhua

President highlights Chile's 12-pct economic growth in 2021

Source: Xinhua

Editor: huaxia

2022-02-02 04:44:58

SANTIAGO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Tuesday highlighted the country's economic growth of 12 percent in 2021, which he noted was one of the highest in the world and surpassed "by far" the level before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The year 2021 ended with two pieces of good news, our economy grew substantially at 12 percent, the highest figure in many decades and among one of the highest in the world," Pinera said in a video released by the Presidency, "and this growth has allowed us to far exceed the levels of activity we had before the pandemic."

The president explained that the growth, along with the government's employment policies, have led the country to recover 1.6 million jobs out of a total of 2 million lost amid the health crisis and the world economic recession.

This year, "we have to continue growing," and "creating more and better jobs" for families, as well as better opportunities for small and medium-sized companies, said Pinera, who will end his term on March 11.

According to the latest report by the Central Bank of Chile, the country's Monthly Index of Economic Activity showed a growth of 10.1 percent in December 2021 compared to the same month a year earlier, which signified that the year of 2021 closed with an economic increase of 12 percent.

This figure established Chile's economy as one of the fastest recovering in the world after the COVID-19 crisis.