The COVID-19 pandemic is having a severe impact on Sao Tome and Principe's economy, exacerbating fiscal and external imbalances. Tourism activities and external remittances dropped sharply, while lockdown measures further deepened the recession. The authorities' swift actions and unprecedented...

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a severe human, economic, and social impact on Mauritania. The economy is estimated to have contracted by about 2 percent in 2020 and the crisis generated large financing needs. The authorities responded swiftly to mitigate the impact of the pandemic while...

Malaysia entered the pandemic from a robust economic position but has nonetheless been significantly affected. A synchronous fiscal, monetary and financial policy response has helped cushion the economic impact. As a result, after a deep recession in 2020, and assuming the pandemic is brought...

The Canadian economy was operating at close to capacity and had strong policy buffers when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Economic and social restrictions put in place in March 2020 helped to mitigate the first wave of the virus, but they came at a significant cost. There was an unprecedented...

Samoa has shown resilience to past economic shocks, underpinned by the authorities' strong commitment to support the economy and financial assistance provided by the international community. Samoa was among the first countries in the world to secure its border to protect its citizens from...

This remote mission provided the authorities with advice in fiscal risk management. The mission covered three interrelated topics: (i) the Public Finance and Expenditure Management (PFEM) Law and fiscal risks oversight and management; (ii) the Stated-Owned Corporations (SOC); and (iii) the...

Sierra Leone continues to grapple with the serious and persistent economic and social effects of the pandemic. Containment measures and trade disruptions in 2020 weakened domestic demand and exports and caused domestic revenues to fall. Moreover, food insecurity has risen from its already-high...

COVID-19 has taken a severe social and economic toll, including almost 60,000 deaths. With over 5 million jobs temporarily affected, Colombia recorded its largest recession on record. Since 2020H2, an uneven recovery with intermittent growth has been underway, led by private domestic demand....