OECD: growth forecast for Israel 5.4% in 2011

Port2port News Service
May 30, 2011

However, according to the prediction, the economy will regress to 4.7% growth in 2012 due to rising labor-supply constraints and more interest rate hikes

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicted in its most recent "Economic Outlook"that Israel's economy will grow 5.4% in 2011, however, according to the prediction, the economy will regress to 4.7% growth in 2012 due to rising labor-supply constraints and more interest rate hikes.

The Economic Outlook also noted that world GDP will be 4.2% in 2011 and 4.6% in 2012, while OECD countries will see growth of 2.3% in 2011 and 2.8% in 2012.

In related news, the OECD unveiled last week a new, interactive better life index that will let people measure and compare their lives in a way that goes beyond traditional GDP numbers. Called Your Better Life Index, the tool is part of a larger OECD Better Life Initiative that aims to measure well-being and progress.

The new Better Life Index ranks nations' quality of life according to 11 parameters allowing citizens to compare lives across 34 countries. The 11 parameters are: housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety, work-life balance.

Israel fared well:

Israel has the highest fertility rate of all countries in the OECD, with an average of 2.96 children per household, above the average of 1.74. The country with the second-highest birthrate is Iceland, with 2.22 children per household.

While an average 59% of people in OECD countries said they were happy with their live, 72% of Israeli residents said they were.

Israel was also above average in education, with 81% of adults age 25-64 having earned high school matriculation, but lower in terms of employment and the number of employed mothers of school-age children.