According to the organisation’s World Economic Outlook, released on April 9, economic growth for the MENA region is expected to be just 1.3% this year. The IMF now expects growth across the region’s oil exporters to be just 0.4% this year, compared to a prediction of 2% growth in October. GettyIn an interim report released in January, the IMF had cut its growth forecast for Saudi Arabia from 2.4% to 1.8%. However, the IMF has trimmed its growth forecasts for Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia by 0.1-0.3 percentage points. Slow economic growth rates do not bode well for the political stability of the region, where high unemployment is the norm.

Source: Forbes April 10, 2019 10:07 UTC