September 28 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Wednesday it expects North Macedonia's gross domestic product (GDP) to increase by 2.7% in 2022, revising downwards its projection for 3% growth made in May.
In 2023, North Macedonia's GDP is forecast to grow by 2.3%, the EBRD said in the September edition of its Regional Economic Prospects report.
In the May issue of the report, the EBRD projected economic growth of 3% for North Macedonia in 2023.
The revisions since May are driven mostly by the reduced gas supplies from Russia and rising inflation on a global level, which are expected to slow economic growth in 2023 in the regions where EBRD works, the bank said.
The EBRD now forecasts economic growth of 3.2% in 2022 and 3% in 2023 for the Western Balkans region. However, projections are subject to major downside risk should Russia’s war on Ukraine escalate or the volume of its gas exports decline even more, the EBRD noted.
North Macedonia's GDP grew 4% in 2021 after shrinking by 4.5% the year before.