Liberia continues to face substantial long-term development challenges. Resource constraints and substantial gaps in infrastructure and human capital have hindered Liberia's growth prospects and the authorities' efforts to improve living standards. Addressing these challenges will require...

Cabo Verde's recent strong economic growth is driven by tourism, exports, private consumption, and remittances, but hampered by slow government investment. The government has maintained macro-financial stability but faces risks from global uncertainties, supply chain issues, and commodity price...

Economic activity has slowed reflecting falling natural gas production, lower public investment execution, financial volatility, and disruptions due to socio-political tensions. Bolivia's inflation rate remains one of the lowest in the region, sustained by price controls and costly subsidies....

The Board approved Ethiopia's request for a four-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF arrangement) in July 2024 to support the authorities' Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda. The Fund-supported program addresses macroeconomic imbalances, aiming to restore external debt...

Niger remains trapped in high levels of fragility and conflict, which are exacerbated by climate shocks. This year, flooding combined with heavy rain affected more than 1.5 million people. The socio-political environment remains challenging. Political instability and sanctions following the...

The authorities have requested a three-month extension of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement set to expire on January 20, 2025. The three-year arrangement was approved by the Executive Board on January 21, 2022, with access of SDR 324.0 million (200 percent of quota). The extension...

The authorities have requested a new ECF-supported program, to deepen reforms undertaken under the previous program (completed in July 2024). They have also requested a program under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF)

This gap-filling paper provides granular advice on how to design quantitative and structural conditionality of IMF-supported programs in six expenditure policy areas: social assistance, energy subsidies, pension spending, health spending, education spending, and wage bill management. Such...

Recent developments. Haiti is facing exceptionally challenging circumstances. The deteriorating security environment, which reached crisis proportions in the first few months of 2024, has continued to worsen, disrupting supply chains (particularly energy and basic services) and feeding...

The authorities' commitment to a range of policy reforms continues to strengthen macroeconomic stability. The economy is growing, inflation is receding, donor support is increasing, the public debt is declining, and international bond spreads are at historic lows. The Final Investment Decision...

Following the shocks of recent years, fiscal expansion has helped preserve robust economic growth but has also pushed up Togo's public debt and contributed to vulnerabilities in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Further, despite the fiscal expansion, Togo's progress towards...

The Gambia hosted the 15th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in early May 2024-the second largest intergovernmental organization in the world. Economic recovery is strengthening, while inflation has trended down, albeit slowly. Despite strong revenue collection efforts, the...

On March 25, 2022, the IMF Executive Board approved a 30-month arrangement for Argentina supported by the Extended Fund Facility (2022 EFF). Amounting to US$44 billion (1,001 percent of quota), it was the second largest non-precautionary arrangement in the Fund's history after the 2018 Stand-by...

Tajikistan has continued to navigate the challenging external environment well. Real GDP rose 8.4 percent during January-September 2024, while inflation remained well-contained at 3.1 percent (y/y) in September. Robust remittances have boosted the external position, with FX reserves at more than...

The people of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), a small fragile island state, have faced extraordinary challenges. STP continues to struggle with high fuel import needs, limited export potential, and depleted international reserves, and faced a massive balance of payments (BOP) shock in early...

Being indebted represents significant risks associated with global financial instability in a world where financial stability hangs precariously between debt and economic growth. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) casts a critical eye over countries navigating the perilous seas of fiscal...

The authorities' implementation of the home-grown Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT 2022) plan and their ambitious climate policy agenda remain strong, supported by the IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). Economic growth in 2024 has been...

Paraguay's economic activity remained strong in 2024. GDP growth is anticipated to reach 4 percent with some upward potential due to favorable performance of financial intermediation, services, and manufacturing. Inflation is firmly under control and expectations are well anchored. Monetary...

This program review is taking place as Ukraine approaches a critical juncture. Conditions of exceptionally high uncertainty remain as Russia's war in Ukraine continues. Amid continuing attacks on energy infrastructure, comprehensive efforts to prepare for the ongoing winter, including the...

The SBA has served as insurance against adverse shocks while guiding reforms to strengthen fiscal and financial governance and foster growth. The RSF has supported climate reforms to increase generation of renewable energy, boost energy efficiency, enhance regional cooperation, and strengthen...

The Mauritanian economy is expected to slow down in 2024 with a growth rate estimated at 4.6 percent (compared to 6.5 percent in 2023), reflecting sluggish extractive sector. Inflation is contained and the current account (CA) deficit is narrowing. The outlook is subject to significant risks,...

Costa Rica successfully completed its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability (RSF) arrangements in June. Growth remains robust, inflation continues to converge to the central bank's target from below, and international reserves are ample. While one-off revenue shortfalls...

Ecuador is making significant progress in the implementation of its economic reform program. The authorities have embarked on a set of decisive policy actions and reforms to address fiscal and external imbalances, supported by the 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement approved by the...

Benin's macroeconomic performance appears robust 2½ years into the EFF and ECF arrangements. There are promising signs of economic transformation, with higher value-added exports and momentum in information and communications technology and tourism. The 2025 budget-the last year of fiscal...

This paper presents the Republic of Moldova's Sixth Reviews under the Extended Credit Facility and Extended Fund Facility Arrangements, Request for Modification of Performance Criteria, and Second Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility Arrangement. Recovery from the multiple...

Following the January 14 presidential election, President Azali announced a new cabinet in July, introducing several new and youthful faces into the political scene. Amid this political transition, Comoros' economy is showing signs of softening coupled with inflationary pressures driven by...

Guinea-Bissau continues to face a challenging economic and political environment. Recent downward shocks to cashew exports are adding pressures to the balance of payments and fiscal revenue. Tightening of regional financial conditions continue to raise borrowing costs. Since the political crisis...

Growth continues to recover from the impacts of the unfavorable global economic environment and domestic factors. Growth is expected to continue strengthening, supported by the implementation of the authorities' reform agenda, and subsiding global commodity prices. Inflation is projected to...

Zambia faces a severe drought, sharply reducing agricultural and electricity output and leading to extensive load shedding. In response, the authorities expanded social cash transfers to support affected households. Multilateral financing has eased fiscal and balance of payments pressures....

Economic activity remains strong but moderating as transitory trade, remittances, and capital flows peter out. The outlook is positive, with growth expected to reach 6.0 percent in 2024 and to converge gradually to its long-term rate. Inflation has picked up very slowly and is expected to remain...

Jordan continues to show resilience and maintain macro-economic stability, thanks to the authorities' sound macro-economic policies and reforms. However, as the conflict in the region continues and widens, it is having a larger impact on Jordan's economy than anticipated at the outset of the program

On March 22, 2023, the IMF Executive Board approved 38-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangements with Papua New Guinea to help address a protracted balance of payments need, manifested in foreign exchange shortages, and to support the authorities' reforms...

Economic growth remains robust, with inflation stable at the midpoint of the target range. Supported by the Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI), Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), and the Stand-by Credit Facility (SCF) Rwanda is advancing its structural reforms focused on...

Economic growth in Seychelles appears to have slowed relative to earlier forecasts. Real GDP growth is projected at 3 percent in 2024 compared to an earlier projection of 3.7 percent. This reflects lower tourist arrivals in the wake of a temporary reduction in the number of direct flights and a...

Benin's strong reform drive and sound macroeconomic management over the past several years have provided policy space to bolster resilience to repeated shocks. The authorities started rebuilding policy buffers last year and recently regained access to the international capital market after a...

On December 9, 2024 the IMF's Board approved the Republic of Serbia's fourth, and final, review under the 2-year Stand By Arrangement (SBA) 2022-24, and a request for a successor 36-month Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI). Under the SBA, the authorities pursued ambitious reforms, helping...

The evaluation assesses the IMF's EAP from its inception in 2002 through mid-2023, the launch of the evaluation. Drawing on experience with 38 Exceptional Access (EA) arrangements during the evaluation period, the analysis spans the EAP's objectives and design, successive reforms, and experience...

Executive Directors welcomed the report of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) on the IMF's Exceptional Access Policy (EAP), encompassing the policy's objectives and design, successive reforms, and experience with its implementation. They recognized that the Fund has sought to find a...

Policy adjustment and reforms are delivering on their objectives, with signs of stabilization crystallizing. Further headways have been made on the debt restructuring. With the December 2024 general elections approaching and considering past episodes of election-driven policy slippages, the...

The Executive Board approved 36-month, US$822 million arrangements under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Honduras in September 2023. The IMF-supported program aims to strengthen macroeconomic stability, create fiscal space for productive investment and...

On November 22, 2024, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussed a paper on the Review of the IMF's Communication Strategy that outlines the objectives and scope of Fund communication, reviews its implementation in recent years, and proposes updates and modernization...

Crises often require economic consolidations that may unevenly affect different segments of the population. Some crisis countries enter financial arrangements with the IMF and adopt adjustment programs, and studies have associated program conditionality with negative impacts on gender...

The evaluation assesses the EAP's rationale, evolution, and implementation during the period since its adoption in 2002. It assesses whether the EAP has fulfilled the objectives that guided its creation, namely, shaping members' and market expectations, providing clearer benchmarks for Board...

Spillovers from the war in Sudan have worsened South Sudan's macroeconomic imbalances and exacerbated an already-dire humanitarian situation. A pipeline carrying 70 percent of South Sudan's oil production through Sudan has been inoperable since February 2024 and repairs have taken longer than...

While agricultural output suffers from yet another drought, non-agricultural output has remained robust, and domestic demand is strengthening. Nonetheless, unemployment has increased. Inflationary pressures have abated, allowing BAM to cut the policy rate in June 2024. The fiscal deficit is on...

Political and social stability have been tested by a cost-of-living crisis, a coup attempt, and allegations of electoral fraud. To help maintain calm, the ruling coalition and the opposition released a joint statement promoting a constructive political dialogue. The Tripartite Committee...

The Board approved Ethiopia's request for a four-year arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF arrangement) in July 2024 to support the authorities' program aimed at addressing macroeconomic imbalances, restoring external debt sustainability, and laying the foundation for high,...