Wednesday, December 13 2023 18:45

ArmInfo. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts per capita GDP growth in Armenia in 2023 to $8,029 (from actual $6,569 in 2022), with further y-o-y increases to $8,352 in 2024 and $8,967 in 2025. IMF reports, also providing an improved forecast for Armenia's GDP growth for 2023 from the previous 5.5% to an updated 7%, with a slowdown to 5% in 2024 and to 4.5% in 2025.

According to the IMF forecast, the absolute value of Armenia's GDP,  will reach 9.4 trillion drams in 2023 (from the actual 8.5 trillion  in 2022), with further y-o-y growth to 10.3 trillion drams in 2024  and 11.2 trillion drams in 2025.

For exports and imports, the IMF projects growth to slow to 22.7% and  28% in 2023, respectively (from actual 77.7% and 63.5% in 2022),  after that, in 2024, exports will be in decline by 0.4% and import  growth will slow significantly to 1.1%, but already in 2025, exports  will grow by 5.2%  and at the same time the increasing rate of  imports will accelerate to 6%.

The current account deficit to GDP ratio is projected by the IMF to  be 3.1% in 2023 and remain at this level in 2024, after which it will  increase slightly to 3.6% in 2025.  The IMF also projects a decrease  in the level of gross reserves coverage of imports of goods and  services to 3.6 months in 2023, and a further y-o-y decline in this  indicator to 3.3 and 3.2 months in 2024-2025.  Moreover, the IMF  forecasts a decrease in Armenia's gross international reserves to $4  billion in 2023 (from $4.1 billion in 2022), with a further decrease  to $3.9 billion in 2024 and then a return to $4 billion in 2025.

According to the IMF forecast, inflation in Armenia will decrease to  2.7 % in 2023 (from 8.6% per annum in Jan-Dec 2022), then it will  rise to 3.9% in 2024 and it will stabilize at the target level 4% in  2025.  The ratio of investments to GDP in Armenia will increase to  23.3% in 2023 (from 21.7% in 2022), then it will go up to 24% in  2024, and it will decrease slightly to 23.8% in 2025.  The IMF also  projects Armenia's public debt-to-GDP ratio to rise to 50.3% in 2023  (after a decrease from 63.4% to 49.2% in 2022), then expecting a  decrease to 50.1% in 2024, and a slight increase to 50.8% in 2025.

According to statistical data, Armenia's GDP growth accelerated to  12.6% in 2022 from 5.8% in 2021.  Inflation in Jan-Dec 2022 compared  to Jan-Dec 2021 increased to 8.6% (from 7.2% a year earlier), which  was facilitated by a significant increase by 12.5% in prices of food  products and a slightly less significant increase by 7% in prices of  non-food products goods, with an increase by 5.2% in tariffs for  services.  Moreover, such a movement in prices for food and non-food  products was observed a year earlier in Jan- Dec 2021 to  January-December 2020, when a significant increase by 11-8.7%  in  prices was recorded in these markets, but at the same time tariffs  for services then increased by 1.9% alone.