The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published its next report on the development prospects of the world economy.

According to the report, Uzbekistan’s economy will grow by 5.5% in 2023, which is 0.2% higher than expected in April. The GDP growth forecast for 2024 was left unchanged at 5.5%.

In terms of economic growth rates, Uzbekistan is ahead of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, only slightly lower than Tajikistan.

For the Middle East and Central Asia region as a whole, GDP growth at the end of the year is only 2% – half of last year’s figure. In 2024, it is expected to accelerate slightly – up to 3.4%.

The IMF also improved the inflation forecast in Uzbekistan. Thus, instead of the previously expected 11.8%, inflation this year will be 10.2%, and next year it will slow down to 10%.

At the same time, the IMF predicts that the Central Bank’s goal of achieving 5% inflation by 2028 will be a difficult task.

Moreover, the current account deficit will increase to 4.3% and 4.6% in the next two years, respectively. The deterioration of expectations for this indicator may be related to the decrease in the volume of cross-border payments to the republic and the expansion of the foreign trade deficit.