Quarter of a century of continuous growth

The Isle of Man's economy grew for the 25th year in a row last year.

Figures produced by the Treasury's Economic Affairs Division show there was real growth in nearly every area in 2007/08.

The gross domestic product, or the value of goods and services produced in the Manx economy over the year, rose to over £2 billion, a rise of 11.7% on the previous 12 months.

Business Editor John Moss reports (text, below, from attached audio file):

This report from the Treasury claims that with the price inflation stripped out, real growth stood at 7.5%, which was marginally lower than the previous year and similar to the average over the last ten years.

The national income per head of population is now 22% higher than in the United Kingdom and 29% higher than in the 15 countries which until 2004 constituted the European Union.

Figures show a rise of nearly 20% in the non-banking sector and a continuing expansion of the information and communication technology sector.

It's being stressed that they reflect a period before the global economic downturn and, whilst the Isle of Man hasn't been as badly affected as many other countries, growth has slowed to around 2.5%, as predicted in the 2009 budget.