BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 17. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised up the growth projection for the Caucasus and Central Asia to 4.9% from 4.7% for 2024 and to 5.3% from 5.2% for 2025, Trend reports.
"The adjustment reflects robust growth in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to date, higher than expected in ADO September 2024. Driven by the nonhydrocarbon sectors supported by public investment, Azerbaijan’s economy expanded 4.7% in the first 3 quarters of 2024. In the same period, GDP growth in Georgia reached 9.8%, due to strong consumption supported by credit and salary growth, as well as public spending on infrastructure," reads the latest outlook from the Bank.
ADB experts estimate that with strong remittances and gold exports, Tajikistan’s economy grew 8.4%.
"With a surge of fixed investment, Uzbekistan’s grew 6.6% in the first 9 months of 2024. The growth outlook remains unchanged for Armenia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Turkmenistan," reads the report.
The Bank estimates that GDP growth in Kazakhstan, the subregion’s largest economy, was 4.0% in January-September 2024.
"Among major sectors of the economy, agriculture recovered to grow 11.4%, thanks to favorable weather, after contracting 9.9% in the same period a year earlier. Construction, transport, trade, and manufacturing also drove overall growth. Yet, ratings in the central bank’s consolidated business activities index and business climate index both moderated in October 2024, partly due to contraction of the services sector. In the first 9 months of 2024, Kazakhstan’s oil production declined marginally over the same period in 2023. On 3 November 2024, OPEC+ collectively announced extension of voluntary oil production cuts until the end of December," says the report.
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