June 5 (SeeNews) - The World Bank said it has increased its projection for Serbia's economic growth in 2017 to 3.0%, 0.2 of a percentage point higher than the forecast made in January.
Serbia's GDP is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2018 and 2019 each, the World Bank said in its June 2017 Global Economic Prospects Report.
The economy of Serbia expanded by 2.8% in 2016, according to the World Bank estimate in the report. In January, the World Bank estimated 2.5% economic growth last year.
The World Bank affirmed its projection for the GDP growth of the Western Balkans region comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, at 3.2% in 2017 and 3.7% in 2019. However, the bank lowered its forecast for 2018 by 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.5%.
The bank highlighted the geopolitical risks to growth within the region, given reemerging political tensions among Western Balkan countries.