WB expects Morocco’s growth to reach 2.5% in 2023 & 3.3% in 2024

Morocco’s economic growth is expected to reach 2.5 pc in 2023 before rebounding to 3.3 pc in 2024, according to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report.

The persistent drought and high inflation are weakening growth in Morocco, with unemployment rising to above its pandemic peak in March 2023, said the WB.

However, growth in the North African Kingdom is expected to pick up to 2.5 pc in 2023 from 1.1 pc the previous year supported by resilience in tourism and the automotive industry, underlined the WB in its forecast, saying that adverse weather will postpone the normalization of agricultural output after consecutive years of drought.

Growth in MENA region is expected to slow to 2.2 pc in 2023, with downward revisions from January projections for both oil exporters and importers. Growth in the region is expected to rebound in 2024 to 3.3 pc as inflation and global headwinds subside, and oil production rises.

According the WB outlook, global growth is projected to slow significantly in the second half of this year, with weakness continuing in 2024. Inflation pressures persist, and tight monetary policy is expected to weigh substantially on activity.

The global economy remains in a precarious state amid the protracted effects of the overlapping negative shocks of the pandemic, the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine, and the sharp tightening of monetary policy to contain high inflation, explained the World Bank.