TEHRAN – World Bank, in its latest economic report on the MENA region, dubbed “A New State of Mind: Greater Transparency and Accountability in the Middle East and North Africa”, sees the Iranian economy growing by 2.9 percent in 2022.

“Iran’s GDP is forecast to grow 2.9 percent in 2022. In 2023, the average growth for developing oil exporter is expected to fall back to 2.7 percent,” the bank said in the report.

The bank expects the Islamic Republic’s Account Balance to improve in 2022 reaching 3.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The figure stood at 3.5 percent last year.

Iran’s Fiscal Balance is also expected to improve this year, as it is seen to reach – 4.5 percent from – 5.3 percent in 2021.

Based on the report, despite the difficult global economic conditions, most of the countries in the MENA region are expected to experience some economic growth in the current year due to rising oil prices.

The World Bank has predicted the economic growth of this region to reach 5.5 percent this year due to the significant increase in oil and gas prices. In 2021, the economic growth of the West Asia and North Africa had reached 3.6 percent.

Among the countries in the region, Kuwait will experience the highest economic growth in 2022. The World Bank has predicted that Kuwait's economy will grow by 8.5 percent this year. Morocco, on the other hand, is expected to experience the lowest economic growth this year with a growth of 1.2 percent.

Back in June, WB had predicted the Iranian economy to grow by 3.7 percent in 2022 in its Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report.

“Output in the Islamic Republic of Iran is expected to grow by 3.7 percent in 2022, boosted by the waning of the pandemic and higher oil prices,” the bank said in the report.

EF/MA