IMF raises Azerbaijan's economic growth forecast for 2024-2025

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised its economic growth forecast for Azerbaijan, projecting a 3.2% increase in the country's GDP for 2024, according to the October edition of the World Economic Outlook.

Report informs that this marks an improvement from the April forecast, which predicted a 2.8% growth for the same year.

Looking further ahead, the IMF expects Azerbaijan's economy to grow by 2.5% in 2025, up from the previous estimate of 2.3%. The long-term outlook remains stable, with a projected growth rate of 2.4% for 2029.

The Middle East and Central Asia region as a whole is expected to experience economic growth of 2.4% in 2024, 3.9% in 2025, and 3.8% in 2029.

According to data from the State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan, the country's GDP amounted to 92.8 billion manats in January-September 2024, a 4.7% increase compared to the same period last year. The oil and gas sector saw a 0.9% increase in added value, while the non-oil and gas sector grew by 7.1%.

The Azerbaijani government's own projections for GDP growth are as follows: 4.2% in 2024, 3.5% in 2025, 2.8% in 2026, 3.8% in 2027, and 3.3% in 2028. The oil and gas sector is expected to grow by 0.3% in 2024 and 0.5% in 2025, but contract by 3%, 0.1%, and 2.1% in 2026-2028, respectively. The non-oil and gas sector, on the other hand, is projected to maintain steady growth, with 6.4% in 2024, 4.9% in 2025, and around 5% annually in 2026-2028.

Azerbaijan's GDP growth in 2023 was 1.1%.