Four out of 10 Ecuadorians expect economic improvement in the next year

Ecuadorians’ perception of the country’s economy is less optimistic in the short term, according to a Central Bank report.

42 % of Ecuadorians believe that the country’s economy will improve in the next 12 months. It is supported by a survey by the Interdisciplinary Consulting in Development (CID Gallup), published on July 6, 2023.

The perception of Ecuadorians is less optimistic in the short term. Only 3.3% of Ecuadorians believe that the country’s economic situation will improve in the next three months, according to the Central Bank’s Consumer Confidence Index on June 29.

On the other hand, the majority, 55.3%, maintain that it will get worse. And 41.4% think that it will remain the same.

This taking into account that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) barely grew 0.7% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Central Bank.

The majority of the population is skeptical due to:

• The deterioration of adequate employment, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The increase in prices, which has meant the loss of purchasing power for households.
• Intense rains that have damaged the crops of 4,300 farmers.
• The threat of the El Niño phenomenon, which would mean a cost of USD 4,000 million.
• Increase in country risk, in recent months, due to the instability that triggered the impeachment trial against President Guillermo Lasso and the decree of cross death, with which the Assembly was dissolved and extraordinary elections were called.

Latin American economies

In the region, the populations of Mexico (65%) and El Salvador (62%) are the most optimistic about the economic performance of the coming year.

On the other hand, Guatemala is the country that shows the greatest skepticism towards its economy in the following 12 months.