World Bank expects Ukraine's economy to shrink by 3.5% in 2020

The World Bank expects that Ukraine's economy will shrink by 3.5% in 2020, while the global economy will fall by 5.2%.

"The outlook for Eastern Europe has substantially weakened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with GDP expected to contract by 3.6%. Activity in Ukraine is projected to shrink in 2020, by 3.5%, but the depth of the contraction will depend on the duration of the health crisis, progress on major pending reforms, and the ability to mobilize adequate financing to meet sizable repayment needs," the World Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects report for June 2020.

Read alsoUkraine's CPI in May 2020 slows to 1.7%

The bank also predicts that in 2021 the Ukrainian economy will grow by 3%, while the world's economy will expand by 4.2%.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the growth of Ukraine's real GDP in 2019 slowed to 3.2% from 3.4% in 2018, or the maximum indicator for the past seven years. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are forecasting a global economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting global crisis.

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers approved an updated macroeconomic forecast for the current year, according to which the economy is expected to fall by 3.9%, inflation will accelerate to 8.7% and the average annual forex rate of the hryvnia will be UAH 29.5 per U.S. dollar.