Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has stated that the World Bank's forecast for the economy of the Maldives is higher than the government's forecast. He made these remarks in a tweet referring to the World Bank's Global Economic Prospects report for January 2023 on the economies of countries.
According to the report, the World Bank stated that growth in the Maldives is expected to moderate to 8.2% in 2023, which is below previous projections, as the post-pandemic boost fades. The report also stated that the Maldives is expected to remain the fastest-growing economy in the South Asia region.
Referring to World Bank estimates, Minister Ameer said its forecast for the economy is higher than the Maldives Monetary Authority and the Ministry of Finance. He said the World Bank has raised its economic growth forecast for 2023 from 7.6% to 12.4%. He also said that the World Bank predicted that tourism in the Maldives rebounded robustly in 2022, returning its gross domestic product (GDP) to its pre-pandemic level more quickly than previously expected.
The economy of the Maldives grew by 41.7% by the end of 2021, despite a complete stagnation due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The government also expects the economy to grow by 12.3% by the end of this year.