Macedonia will post the highest economic growth in Southeast Europe in 2015. According to World Bank projections, the GDP growth will exceed 3.5 percent, owed primarily to public investments and exports related to foreign direct investments.
“Macedonia had the highest regional growth in 2014. This is partially owed to the country being spared from the floods that hit neighboring countries, but also due to the favorable economic relations with exporting partners. We believe growth will remain at a high level and even enhance. Growth in exports related to foreign direct investments should continue, but we also see certain recovery in the traditional exporting sectors. Public investments continue to generate growth, but there is certain improvement in the section of domestic demand, which we see as a good sign”, said World Bank senior economist Doerte Doemeland in Tuesday’s presentation of the regular semi-annual report.
The economies of Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro will also rise by more than three percent, one percent in Bosnia-Herzegovina, while Serbia’s economy will contract 0.5 percent.
Doemeland said unemployment in Macedonia remained high, but the country made largest progress in the field when compared to the other regional states.
“Unemployment in Europe is at a record high, but when we compare Macedonia to the regional countries we can see relatively strong performance in the economic growth, which is reflected on the lowering of the unemployment rate”, stressed the World Bank economist.
According to the World Bank, dropping oil prices would not have much influence on the Budget’s revenues, whereas the Eurobond has been taken under favorable conditions.
“The Government has managed to agree on very favorable conditions in time of turbulent financial markets”, added Doemeland.
The World Bank said the public debt was still below the regional average, but increased fast, while the Government should focus on investments that yield economic benefit
