After experiencing exceptional economic growth in the 2000s, Kazakhstan's economy has slowed sharply since the global financial crisis, putting development achievements at risk. The economic slowdown has been caused by sharply lower commodity prices, and structural degradation of the economy....

Following an initial spike in early 2018, Armenia's economic performance slowed during the rest of the year, but still estimated to have above 5 percent growth for the year. Inflationary pressures remained low, while the external balances deteriorated. The overperformance of the fiscal accounts...

This report describes the key policies for Mali to succeed leveraging growth with export diversification. For many decades, Mali has been a commodity-dependent country, mainly relying on gold and, to a lesser extent, cotton. However, the experience of other countries, in Africa and other parts...

Real GDP growth in Russia surpassed expectations in 2018, reaching 2.3 percent, mostly due to one off effects of energy construction. Forecasted growth of 1.2 percent in 2019 and 1.8 percent in 2020 and 2021 reflects a more modest outlook. Russia's macro-fiscal buffers remain strong, with fiscal...

This edition of the Country Economic Update is part of a semi-annual series designed to monitor recent economic developments in Uzbekistan. The report presents a broad overview of the country's macroeconomic, social, and structural developments in 2018. The Special Focus section discusses...

Papua New Guinea's (PNG) economy has started recovering from a series of external shocks, but its growth outlook remains fragile due to rising uncertainties. The recovery is being observed in the resource sector, mainly in its extractive segment dominated by liquefied natural gas (LNG), while...

Growth in the Western Balkans has strengthened to an estimated 3.5 percent. In most of the region, growth projections for 2018 have been revised upward. Growth was stimulated by higher public investment and consumption. Driven by tax reforms and faster growth, higher tax revenues created fiscal...

This note examines the competitiveness of the export sector in Sao Tome and Principe. It relies on the framework developed by Reis and Farole (2012) and examines the export competitiveness along four complementary dimensions: export growth and market shares, diversification in terms of product...