According to the World Bank website, the drop in GDP is projected at 2.8%. Among the reasons for the fall, the World Bank cites the impact of sanctions imposed by Western countries.
The World Bank also predicted a drop in GDP in its previous review, which came out last October. Then it lowered its estimate from a growth of 1.9% to a fall of 2.8%.
In 2023, as before, the World Bank expects the Belarusian economy to grow by 2.3%.
The organization reports that the global recovery is set to slow down amid prolonged COVID-19 outbreaks, declining political support, and prolonged supply bottlenecks. The outlook is clouded by various downside risks, including new virus variants, unanchored inflation expectations, and financial stress. If some countries require debt restructuring, recovery will be harder to achieve than before. Climate change could increase volatility in commodity prices. Social tensions could increase due to rising inequality caused by the pandemic. These challenges underscore the need to stimulate widespread vaccination, increase debt sustainability, combat climate change and inequality, and diversify economic activity.
