BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 16. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) projects Kazakhstan's GDP growth at 3.9 percent in 2023, Trend reports.
The forecast for the country's economic growth has been revised up by 0.4 percent since February 2023 assessment, the bank said in its outlook.
The bank's report also noted that the country's economic growth stood at 3.2 percent in 2022.
"In 2022, the economy grew by 3.2 percent year-on-year despite intermittent technical disruptions at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s terminal in Novorossiysk threatening Kazakh oil exports. Exports demonstrated remarkable resilience amid high oil prices (up 39.9 percent year-on-year). Growth accelerated to 4.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, led by significant gains in construction (18 percent year-on-year), fixed capital investment (16.1 percent) and retail trade turnover (12.1 percent). Industry (2.8 percent) and agriculture (3.5 percent) posted smaller growth rates," the report said.
As the EBRD expects, Kazakhstan's GDP growth will expand further in 2024 to 4.2 percent. This forecast has also been revised up by 0.2 percent since the last outlook.
"Growth in Central Asia is forecast to remain strong at 5.2 percent in 2023 (revised up since February) and 5.4 percent in 2024. Projections reflect strong growth outcomes in year-on-year terms in the first quarter of 2023 and robust real wage growth in year-on-year terms. Relocation of Russian businesses and increased oil exports are providing a boost to growth in Kazakhstan while Mongolia is benefitting from expanded mining production and the reopening of China," the report said.