Belarus lags behind Europe and Central Asia in economic growth


According to another disappointing forecast from the World Bank, in the coming years, the domestic economic growth will be the smallest among the countries of Europe and Central Asia.

GDP growth in Belarus will slow down to 1% this year and to 0.5% next year. In the other economies that are switching to market-based rails, growth will accelerate. What are we doing wrong and will we start to do it differently?

We need to start treating the economy until there are no chronic symptoms. The diagnosis was set by World Bank economist Kiryl Haiduk at the end of the year.

The economist advises to start therapy with industry and agriculture.

The World Bank has recently confirmed its autumn forecasts for the development of the Belarusian economy in the next 3 years. Bank analysts predict GDP growth by 0.9% this year, while in 2021 and 2022 it will only reach 0.5%. Although, in mid-summer, they had more optimistic figures in their forecasts than the government agencies did.

The World Bank analyzed the economies of Europe and Central Asia. Half of them are unwealthy countries that are on the road to reform. And the second part is an unreformed economy, but rich in natural resources. Belarus is a black sheep in this range, Vadzim Iosub concludes.

The gap between the welfare of European countries and the welfare of Belarus population is beginning to grow. First of all, this can be seen in the outflow of labor abroad. While earlier it was workers who went abroad to work first, now qualified specialists get involved in labor emigration — those who could boost the economy at home.

Yulia Tselpuk, belsat.eu

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