TEHRAN - The United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its latest report on the global economy dubbed “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2024” has said the Iranian economy grew by three percent in 2023, registering the second-biggest economic growth in West Asia after Bahrain.

The UN report has put the growth of Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 at 3.0 percent, higher than 99 countries all around the world. The entity expects the Iranian economy to grow by 2.4 percent in 2024.

The United Nations statistics show that the average economic growth of 12 countries in West Asia in 2023 was less than 1.0 percent. In other words, Iran's economy has grown three times the regional average in 2023.

Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon registered negative economic growth in 2023. The economic growth of these countries has been reported as - 0.7 percent, - 3.5 percent, - 0.5 percent, and - 0.2 percent, respectively.

The economic growth of Oman is reported to be 1.2 percent, Qatar 2.3 percent, UAE 2.7 percent, Jordan 2.1 percent, and Syria 1.3 percent. Saudi Arabia’s economy has also faced stagnation and reported zero growth this year.

The UN report also put Iran's inflation rate at 42.1 percent in 2023 and predicted that the figure will fall to 28.6 percent in 2024 with a significant decrease compared to the previous year.

EF/MA