Tunis: The World Bank (WB) has revised downwards its GDP growth forecasts for Tunisia, to 2.4% in 2024, compared to 3% announced in January 2024. In 2025, Tunisia's GDP growth is expected to remain stable at 2.4%, according to the World Bank's economic report for the Middle East and North Africa, entitled "Conflict and debt in Middle East and North Africa, published , Monday. For the whole of 2023, GDP growth is expected to be 0.4%, a downward revision of 0.8% compared to the forecast for January 2024 (1.2%). For Tunisia's budget deficit, the WB forecasts indicate that it would fall, in 2024, by 0.8 percentage points to 5.6% of GDP. //The MENA region's GDP is expected to increase by 2.7% in 2024// According to the same report, economies in the Middle East and North Africa are expected to return to modest growth similar to that of the decade before the pandemic. MENA GDP is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2024, a modest increase from 1.9% in 2023. Oil-exporting developing countries will grow by 2.8% in 2024 , compared to 3.1% in 2023. Oil-importing developing countries are expected to grow from 3.1% in 2023 to 2.5% in 2024, the report reveals. The WB forecasts underline that the average budget deficit of MENA oil-importing countries will widen slightly to 5.7% of GDP in 2024, from 5.5% in 2023. The WB highlighted that the World Bank's economic report for the Middle East and North Africa highlights the impact of stagnant growth, rising debt and growing uncertainty caused by conflicts over local economies. The report adds that oil-importing countries in the MENA region have failed to reduce or bring debt under control, thus highlighting the importance of tax discipline to reduce debts. For oil-exporting countries, the challenge is to diversify the economy and revenue sources, given structural changes in global oil markets and growing demand for renewable energy. «Overall, MENA economies need to undertake structural reforms, particularly on transparency, boost growth and ensure sustainable development,» the WB report concluded. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
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