According to the Minister of Finance, Ibrahim Ameer, the World Bank’s forecast for the Maldives economy is higher than the government’s own projections. The statement was made in reference to the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report, which was released on January 2023. The report predicts that the Maldives economy will moderate to 8.2% growth in 2023, which is a decrease from previous predictions. However, the Maldives is still predicted to be the fastest-growing economy in the South Asia region.
Minister Ameer further noted that the World Bank’s forecast for the Maldives economy is more optimistic than the forecasts made by the Maldives Monetary Authority and the Ministry of Finance. The World Bank has raised its growth forecast for 2023 from 7.6% to 12.4%. Additionally, the report predicts that tourism in the Maldives will rebound robustly in 2022, which will help the country’s GDP return to pre-pandemic levels more quickly than previously anticipated.
Despite the economic impact of the pandemic, the Maldives economy grew by 41.7% by the end of 2021. The government also expects the economy to continue growing, with a projected 12.3% growth by the end of 2023.
