TEHRAN – The World Bank, in its latest economic report on the MENA region, titled “A New Mindset: Greater Transparency and Accountability in the Middle East and North Africa,” projects Iran’s economy to grow by 2.9 percent in 2022.
“Iran’s GDP is forecast to grow by 2.9 percent in 2022. In 2023, average growth for developing oil exporters is expected to fall back to 2.7 percent,” the bank said in the report.
The bank expects the Islamic Republic’s balance to improve in 2022, reaching 3.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Last year it was 3.5 percent.
Iran’s fiscal balance is also expected to improve this year as it is projected to hit -4.5 percent from -5.3 percent in 2021.
According to the report, despite the difficult global economic conditions this year, most countries in the MENA region are likely to experience some economic growth due to rising oil prices.
The World Bank is forecasting economic growth of 5.5 percent for this region this year due to the significant increase in oil and gas prices. In 2021, economic growth in West Asia and North Africa had reached 3.6 percent.
Among the countries in the region, Kuwait will see the highest economic growth in 2022. The World Bank forecasts that Kuwait’s economy will grow by 8.5 percent this year. Morocco, on the other hand, is expected to record the lowest economic growth this year with growth of 1.2 percent.
In June, WB had already forecast growth of 3.7 percent for the Iranian economy in 2022 in its Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report.
“Islamic Republic of Iran’s production is expected to grow 3.7 percent in 2022, boosted by the easing of the pandemic and higher oil prices,” the bank said in the report.
EF/MA
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