Alderney’s GDP grew by 16% during 2021

GDP is a measure of economic output, and the figure equated to £25,328 per head of population.

Policy & Finance committee chairman Nigel Vooght said the figure demonstrated that Alderney had the ability to weather the storm of the pandemic.

‘It is a foundation upon which to build a sustainable economy in the coming years,’ he said.

The report is based on a new annual economic activity return, which sources information from businesses and other organisations.

Alderney Chamber of Commerce president Andrew Eggleston said there were three factors behind the figures and they were all related to the pandemic.

‘Firstly, house sales increased dramatically. There were almost 100 houses sold –in a normal year it’s around 50,’ said Mr Eggleston, an estate agent.

Changes in document duty arrangements mean that all of these receipts now remain in Alderney whereas it was previously partly paid to Guernsey.

‘Part of this housing boom was driven by people from Guernsey,’ said Mr Eggleston.

‘And this is the second part. The pandemic meant Alderney was one of the only places people from Guernsey could holiday. During lockdown, they rediscovered Alderney and fell in love with it.

‘Many visited more than once and some ended up buying property and even moving here permanently.’

The island now has the highest population it has enjoyed for more than 10 years with 2,141 residents, up from a low of 1,979 in 2014.

‘During Covid, our own residents couldn’t leave. Many residents do move away for periods of the year, but for 2021 we retained 100% of our population and they spent far more money on the island.’

GDP comprises several factors, including wages, company trading and sole trader profits, public sector trading body surpluses and household income.

Compensation of employees, including wages, makes up the biggest part of Alderney’s GDP at 48%, followed by gross operating profit, which represents 29%.

However, despite the increase, the figure for 2021 was still about half of Guernsey’s per capita figure of £54,000.

Finance remained the single largest contributor to Alderney’s gross value added, which is a measure of how much each sector contributes to GDP. It contributed £9m., 16% of GVA.

This was closely followed by public administration, which contributed £8m., 15% of GVA.

This compares to Guernsey where finance makes up 36% of GVA and public administration 9%.

. The full bulletin can be viewed at https://alderney.gov.gg/data.