World Bank sees 5.2% contraction in MENA, in line with IMF

World Bank sees 5.2% contraction in MENA, in line with IMF

The World Bank anticipates that economies in the Middle East and North Africa will contract more deeply than initially estimated, fueled by the double burden of lower crude prices and the spread of Covid-19.

The global lender revised its estimate to a 5.2 per cent shrinkage this year versus an April forecast of a 1.1 per cent contraction, according to its updated regional economic outlook published on Sunday.

The outlook is in line with that of the International Monetary Fund, which last week predicted gross domestic product would contract 5 per cent in 2020.

Even before this year's crises, "the loss of potential growth because of the lack of transparency, lack of governance and the very heavy role of the state“ had dragged the region's economies downward, Ferid Belhaj, the bank's vice