Georgia's performance under the Extended Arrangement has been positive, but the country is now facing a pronounced economic slowdown. Domestic and external demand remain weak, and service sector activity remains sluggish. Staff projects the economy to shrink by 5.1 percent this year followed by...

Barbados has made good progress in implementing its Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan to restore fiscal and debt sustainability, rebuild reserves, and increase growth-but faces major challenges owing to the global coronavirus pandemic. Since May 2018, international reserves have...

Albania continues to be severely affected by the aftermath of the November 2019 earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic. The authorities responded promptly to the shocks, and macroeconomic and financial stability have so far been maintained. The economy is expected to contract sharply in 2020,...

The pandemic interrupted a modest recovery. Following Greece's early and strict containment measures, GDP contracted by 7.9 percent in 2020H1, slightly worse than the Euro Area (EA) unweighted average excluding Luxembourg. A further hit is expected in Q3, the peak of Greece's tourism season. The...

The COVID-19 pandemic is having an adverse impact on Rwanda's economy, despite a sizeable policy response. Output in 2020 is projected to contract by 0.2 percent, compared to an 8 percent increase expected pre-pandemic. The government's early actions helped contain the spread of the virus and...

Restoring macroeconomic stability, providing a foundation for sustainable inclusive growth, and addressing weaknesses in governance remain the main objectives of this program. While allowing for a slight fiscal loosening to meet humanitarian needs during the COVID-19 pandemic, tight monetary...

Timely containment, a large monetary stimulus, and targeted fiscal measures helped save lives and livelihoods during the first COVID-19 wave, but a significant second wave is still unfolding. The economic and human impact has been sizeable: real GDP is expected to decline by 3 percent in 2020;...

While improving, the economic outlook remains highly challenging, given the slow and uncertain recovery from the COVID-related shocks. Heavily dependent on oil, the Angolan economy has suffered from weakness in that sector, with falling production (related to the pandemic) and only a partial...

Although the pandemic has remained fairly contained in Senegal, its economic impact has been severe. Strong fiscal and monetary policy support has helped bolster the health system and cushion the economic shock, with additional fiscal spending exceeding 3 percent of GDP. The IMF disbursed USD...

With the economy already slowing due to the COVID-19 pandemic in FY2019/20, a more intense second wave has hit Myanmar hard, inflicting large economic and social costs and straining the frail healthcare system. The needed strict lockdown measures have hurt manufacturing and spending further,...