Regional Economic Outlook, Middle East and Central Asia, October 2023: Building Resilience and Fostering Sustainable Growth

Author: International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.

Across the Middle East and Central Asia, the combined effects of global headwinds, domestic challenges, and geopolitical risks weigh on economic momentum, and the outlook is highly uncertain.

Publication date: October 2023

ISBN: 9798400254222

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Topics covered in this book

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Labor , Banks and Banking , Exports and Imports , Finance , Inflation , Economics- Macroeconomics , Money and Monetary Policy , International - Economics , growth , inflation , public debt , external financing , commodity prices , structural reforms , investment , labor productivity , financial stability , stress testing , governance reform , GCC country , credit market reform , government effectiveness , reform package , Policy space , Emerging and frontier financial markets , Credit , Labor force participation , Middle East and Central Asia , Central Asia and the Caucasus , Middle East , North Africa , oil exporter , IMF staff calculation , CCA bank , sovereign-bank nexus , Fiscal stance , Current account balance , Commercial banks , Oil exports , Global

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Summary

Across the Middle East and Central Asia, the combined effects of global headwinds, domestic challenges, and geopolitical risks weigh on economic momentum, and the outlook is highly uncertain. Growth is set to slow this year in the Middle East and North Africa region, driven by lower oil production, tight policy settings in emerging market and middle-income economies, the conflict in Sudan, and other country-specific factors. In the Caucasus and Central Asia, although migration, trade, and financial inflows following Russia’s war in Ukraine continue to support economic activity, growth is set to moderate slightly this year. Looking ahead, economic activity in the Middle East and North Africa region is expected to improve in 2024 and 2025 as some factors weighing on growth this year gradually dissipate, including the temporary oil production cuts. But growth is expected to remain subdued over the forecast horizon amid persistent structural hurdles. In the Caucasus and Central Asia, economic growth is projected to slow next year and over the medium term as the boost to activity from real and financial inflows from Russia gradually fades and deep-seated structural challenges remain unsolved. Inflation is broadly easing, in line with globally declining price pressures, although country-specific factors—including buoyant wage growth in some Caucasus and Central Asia countries—and climate-related events continue to make their mark. Despite some improvement since April, the balance of risks to the outlook remains on the downside. In this context, expediting structural reforms is crucial to boost growth and strengthen resilience, while tight monetary and fiscal policies remain essential in several economies to durably bring down inflation and ensure public debt sustainability.