Nicaragua's Finance Minister Ivan Acosta on Monday announced that his country's economy is forecast to grow 2.5 percent in 2021.
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Noting that over US$771 million were destined for social and economic goals since 2007, he recalled that the Nicaraguan economy grew between 1.5 percent and 2 percent in 2020.
The construction of 23,500 houses for about 50,000 families affected by hurricane Eta and Iota will be a top priority in the 2021 public budget.
An additional US$224 million plan will be allocated to the health sector to strengthen free medical services. Public investment in this sector increased from US$3 billion in 2006 to over US$16 billion in 2020.
In 2020, remittances reached over US$1,800 billion, 60 percent of which came from the U.S., 14.7 percent from Spain, 14.6 percent from Costa Rica, and 3.9 percent from Panama.
Besides announcing a reactivation strategy for the second quarter of 2021, Acosta highlighted that the tourism sector was the hardest hit by the pandemic.
"There are favorable conditions for a reactivation of our economy, among them, a financial system currently with a lot of liquidity, a public sector that regulates its budget, strong international reserves, and positive consumption dynamics," Central Bank Director Ovidio Reyes said.