May 4 (SeeNews) - The growth of Kosovo's gross domestic product (GDP) is projected at between 3 and 4% in 2022, the World Bank said on Wednesday.
The projection is based on the assumption that prices normalise in the second half of the year, as any prolonged impacts of recent external pressures may further deteriorate Kosovo’s economic prospects, the World Bank said in a statement after releasing its latest Western Balkans Regular Economic Report.
Structural bottlenecks, such as outdated energy production capacities, further add to the uncertainty, the global lender added.
“There is a pressing need to tackle constraints to higher productivity growth and to invest in human capital for Kosovo to utilize its advantage of having a young population”, Massimiliano Paolucci, World Bank Manager for Kosovo and North Macedonia, said.
Economic growth for the Western Balkans region is forecast at 3.1% in 2022, down from the 4.1% projection made in January. The region's GDP growth reached 7.4% in 2021, after a contraction of 3.2% in 2020.
In its latest Europe and Central Asia Economic Update report published in April, the World Bank projected 3.9% economic growth for Kosovo in 2022.