Isle of Man economy: Super performer.

Isle of Man is a British Overseas Dependency whose economy is doing much better than its Principal’s! Only the global economic slowdown seems to have slowed down the Isle of Man that otherwise is said to have achieved and maintained impressive growth of 10%+ for over 25 years. A superlative performance, by any standard.

Once dependent on agriculture and fishing, the Isle of Man has diversified its economy that has ensured a steady growth for the Island over a long period of time. The major economic activities that drive the Isle of Man economy include:
Banking and Financial Services: Offshore Banking is said to contribute nearly 20% of the Island’s GDP, with other financial services contributing about 20%. That means 40% of the GDP is generated from this sector.
Services: Among the services that contribute the chunk of the revenues to the Island are ship registration and management. The Isle of Man offers highly professional services in the areas of maritime laws, insurance, finance and management. Film production is another area that the Island has been quite successful at by providing professional services. Surprisingly, the Island enjoys an important position in the area of space exploration and commerce, and hosts the Institute of Space Commerce. Tourism is also on the rise as an industry with great potential.
Manufacturing: The Isle of Man is an important center for the manufacture of sophisticated components used in airliners, spacecraft, submarines, oil rigs, etc. No doubt the Island has enjoyed AAA ratings from rating agencies for long.

The Isle of Man administration has for long adopted a liberal economic environment, making it investor-friendly, with liberal labor laws that allow employment of people from abroad. That apart, it has been the policy of the Island to end every budget with a surplus. The only problem that it faces now is opposition in the U.K. to various benefits extended to it in the form of subsidies, especially as Britain faces economic problems in the wake of the global economic meltdown.