WB: Western Balkans’ Economic Growth Between -3 and -5.6%

Like all the other economies in the world, the Western Balkan states will be affected by the coronavirus pandemic and will this year sink into a recession, with a decline in GDP of as much as 11.3%, the World Bank said on April 29.

The bank added that it expected regional growth in the Western Balkans to be between -3 and -5.6%. World Bank Regional Director for the Western Balkans Linda Van Gelder said that, in the medium term, a strong recovery of growth in the region was expected, with a gradual normalization of economic activities, but she pointed out that it also depended on the duration and intensity of the current crisis, as well as on the steps policymakers would take in solving the problems caused by the pandemic.

The main risk for the Western Balkans, according to the World Bank’s estimates, is the fact that a prolonged pandemic, as well as a deeper recession in the EU, might make managing the approaching economic crisis more difficult.