The World Bank forecasts Panama will be among the leaders in Latin America in an economic rebound in 2021 with a growth of 5.1% in a new edition of the World Economic Outlook report in which it updated its growth projections for the world.

The Washington-based organization estimates that in 2021 the global economy will expand by 4%.

For Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole, a growth of 3.7% is calculated for the recently launched fiscal year. Like the rest of the countries in the region, Panama will go from a strong contraction in 2020 to a rebound in 2021.

The multilateral bank maintained its contraction projection for 2020 at 8.1%, a more optimistic estimate than the latest ones made by local analysts, which point to a drop in gross domestic product of around 14%.

Meanwhile, in 2021 the agency believes that the economy will return to the growth path with a rebound of 5.1%, an estimate slightly lower than the 5.3% that it had projected last October.

If this calculation is met, Panama would be among the fastest growing countries in the region.

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean forecasts a growth of 5.5% for Panama in 2021, a performance that would only be surpassed by Peru.

Local estimates range between 4% and 7% growth, although they could be adjusted depending on the evolution of the new coronavirus pandemic.