Gozo's contribution to the gross domestic product at market prices stands at 5.8 per cent, or €315.2 million, according to provisional estimates for last year.

The National Statistics Office said yesterday that gross value added for Malta grew by 6.8 per cent whereas that for Gozo went up by 5.8 per cent. GVA is used in the estimation of GDP, measuring the contribution to the economy of each individual producer, industry or sector.

Service activities (including other services) and industry (including energy and construction) contributed positively towards Gozo's GVA. Employment in industry (including energy) continued to decline in Malta but a slight increase was registered in Gozo.

The contribution of Gozo's agriculture and fishing sector amounted to 7.7 per cent of the island's total GVA while in Malta this was valued at 2.3 per cent, confirming the small island's higher dependence on this primary sector compared to the mainland.

In industry (including energy), Malta registered a larger percentage increase in gross value added and in construction a decline was registered in both regions.

In non-financial services (comprising wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport and communications), a higher growth in gross value added was registered in Gozo compared to Malta. This also occurred in the financial, real estate, renting and business activities sector.

In the other service activities, an increase of 12.4 per cent was registered in Malta's GVA and a 6.9 per cent increase was experienced in Gozo.

An overall increase in employment was registered in both regions. This edged up in all sectors except for Malta's industry (including energy).