Belarus’ GDP falls by 2.6 percent in 2016

Belarus’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 2.6 percent in 2016 to total 94.3 billion new (post-redenomination) rubels, reported the National Statistical Committee (Belstat).

photo by bessarabiainform.com

As Belstat reported earlier, Belarus experienced a four-percent year-on-year GDP fall in January-February 2016, a 3.6-percent fall in the first quarter, a 2.5-percent fall in the first half of the year and a 2.9-percent fall in January-September 2016.

The government had projected Belarus’ GDP to grow by 0.3 percent in 2016. According to Belstat, the country’s GDP fell by 3.8 percent in 2015.

In October last year, Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed a presidential edict setting the government the task of ensuring that Belarus’ GDP grows by 1.7 percent in 2017.

However, the World Bank has forecast that the country will experience a GDP fall of one percent this year, whereas the International Monetary Fund has predicted a 0.5-percent fall.