Britain is being tipped to see its fastest annual rate of growth since World War Two by the International Monetary Fund.
UK GDP this year will rise by 7%, said the IMF, an upgrade on its forecast of a 5.3% recovery in April and helped by the success of its vaccination programme.
Growth is expected to slow in 2022 to 4.8% or slightly ahead of the EU, which is tipped to grow at 4.3%.
Britain is well-placed to cope with even a super contagious Covid-19 strain said the monetary agency, due to the speed of its vaccination programme..
Around 70% of the UK population has received a jab, a figure only surpassed by Canada.
“In countries with high vaccination coverage, such as the United Kingdom and Canada, the impact would be mild; meanwhile countries lagging in vaccination, such as India and Indonesia, would suffer the most among G20 economies.”
Countries that have been slow in vaccinating their population could see growth slow in both 2021 and 2022 if the new variants take hold and higher infection rates cut mobility and activity, the IMF added.
Rishi Sunak, the UK chancellor, said “We still face challenges ahead as a result of the impact of the pandemic, which is why we remain focused on protecting and creating as many jobs as possible.”
For the world, the agency held its global economic forecast for this year at 6% but raised its estimate for 2022 from 4.4% to 4.9%, though it added the gap between rich and poor countries was getting wider and might get worse next year.