The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has updated its economic growth forecast for Armenia, increasing the projected figures for 2024 and 2025 to 6%. This is an improvement from the May forecast, which predicted a growth rate of 5.7% for 2024.
The new data was published in ADB's latest "Asian Development Outlook" report.
Despite the overall positive outlook, ADB notes some slowdown in Armenia's economic growth in the first half of 2024.
Growth reached 6.5%, which is significantly lower than last year's double-digit figures. Experts attribute this slowdown to a one-third reduction in net remittances from abroad, leading to decreased activity in the services sector.
However, not all sectors of the economy experienced a decline. The production sector, excluding construction, saw an increase from 2.5% to 7.5%.
Notably, industrial production showed significant progress, growing by 9.2%, primarily due to advancements in the jewelry sector. The construction sector also continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace, with a 15.9% increase compared to 19.4% previously.
According to the ADB report, the main drivers of Armenia's economic growth remain private consumption and investment. Private consumption rose to 7.5% in the first half of 2024, driven by deflation and an increase in consumer lending.
Meanwhile, gross fixed capital formation accelerated to 22.3%, largely due to increased public investments.
