Morocco’s economic growth to improve to 3.5% in 2020-World Bank

The World Bank expects Morocco’s economic growth to jump from 2.7% in 2019 to 3.5% in 2020, the World Bank said citing Morocco’s reforms to curb fiscal deficit and boost exports.

Morocco’s GDP should increase at a slower pace to 3.6 in 2021 and 3.8 in 2022, the World Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects.

“Morocco reduced the fiscal burden of petroleum subsidies, while at the same time avoiding severe adverse consequences for poverty and inequality,” reads the report.

The World Bank highlighted the fuel subsidies reform, which was implemented “without triggering social unrest despite the absence of cash transfers to households”.

“The fiscal savings from the reform were instead used to fund other reforms,” it said.

Globally, the World Bank said growth is set to rise by 2.5% this year, a small uptick from 2.4% in 2019, as trade and investment gradually recover.

Advanced economies are expected to slow as a group to 1.4% from 1.6%, mainly reflecting lingering weakness in manufacturing while Emerging markets and developing economies will see growth accelerate to 4.1% from 3.5% last year.

However, income growth would in fact be slowest in Sub-Saharan Africa – the region where 56 percent of the world’s poor live.

The World Bank also warned of the scale of debt accumulation among emerging and developing economies in the last 50 years.

“Total debt among these economies climbed to about 170% of GDP in 2018 from 115% of GDP in 2010. Debt has also surged among low-income countries after a sharp drop over 2000-2010,” it said.