BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct.19
By Zeyni Jafarov – Trend:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that the oil-exporting countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia will record an economic decline of 1.6 percent in 2020, Trend reports citing the October forecast of the IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook report.
According to the report, the GDP of the regions’ countries will grow by 3.5 percent in 2021.
“In 2020, the non-oil sector of the oil-exporting countries, including Azerbaijan, will decline by 1.6 percent of GDP. But in 2021 the given figure will increase by 3.6 percent. The share of the non-oil sector in Azerbaijan's GDP will decrease by 3.8 percent this year, and will increase by 3 percent in 2021, contrary to the April forecasts, which envisaged a decline in this sector by 2 percent in 2020,” said the report.
At the same time, the IMF forecasts inflation to be decreased by 7.9 percent in the region, and in 2021 - 6.8 percent.
The fiscal balance this year will be 4.6 percent, and next year it will be 3.1 percent. The current balance to GDP ratio in 2020 will be 3.3 percent.
In 2019, the share of Azerbaijan's non-oil sector increased by 3.5 percent.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @jafarov_zeyni