Malawi's economic growth remains moderate, reflecting a weak agricultural harvest and continued electricity shortages. Fiscal deficits continue to be financed domestically, as donor funding remains constrained by governance concerns since the 2013 cashgate scandal, resulting in an increasing...

Cyprus is recovering strongly from the 2012-13 crisis. GDP growth is projected to remain above 4 percent in 2018-19, buoyed by services and foreign-financed construction. Unemployment is rapidly declining while large fiscal primary surpluses are putting public debt back on a declining path....

Context: In 2017/18 growth slowed due to political uncertainty and appropriately restrictive macroeconomic policies. The external current account deficit narrowed to 6.4 percent of GDP reflecting public-sector fiscal consolidation and a tight monetary policy stance. Reserves were thin and...

The Government is implementing a (i) Macroeconomic Stabilization Program, which is focused on strengthening fiscal and debt sustainability; reducing inflation; promoting a more flexible exchange rate regime; improving financial sector stability; and addressing pressures on correspondent banking...

Sierra Leone is a fragile state. Since emerging from a decade-long civil war in 2001, the country has made notable economic progress but has also suffered occasional setbacks, such as the Ebola Virus Disease epidemic of 2014. A three-year ECF arrangement was approved June 2017 to help address...

Niger faces daunting development challenges, aggravated by terrorist incursions, low uranium export prices, and climate change. Nonetheless, GDP grew by a respectable 5 percent in the past two years. It should average 7 percent over the next five years thanks to reforms, substantial donor...

Suriname is recovering from the deep recession of 2015-16. Growth has turned positive, inflation has reduced to single digits, real interest rates have turned positive, and the external position has on balance strengthened. Nonetheless, the economy remains heavily dependent on the mineral...

President Biya was re-elected as President of Cameroon on October 7 by a large margin, amidst some violence in anglophone regions. Growth is projected to gradually increase from 3.5 percent in 2017 to 3.8 percent in 2018, driven by construction activity ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN)...

After years of impressive growth and poverty reduction, Bolivia is facing a more challenging period. Accommodative fiscal and monetary policies combined with lower gas and minerals prices have contributed to continued large twin deficits, foreign reserve losses, and a sharp increase in public...

The Central African Republic (C.A.R.) is a fragile state with an unstable security environment and widespread poverty. Macroeconomic conditions have stabilized following the 2013 crisis: growth has resumed, inflation has declined, domestic revenues have recovered, and debt ratios have decreased....