According to a biannual economic outlook report made public by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), growth in the Middle East and North Africa region is likely to slow down in 2019. Forecasts presented by the Washington-based international organization suggest that growth in the MENA region is «expected to decline to 1.5 percent in 2019, before recovering to about 3.2 percent in 2020». IMF explains that this downturn is linked to a series of factors, that include «slower GDP growth in Saudi Arabia, ongoing macroeconomic adjustment challenges in Pakistan; US sanctions in Iran; and civil tensions and conflict across several other economies, including Iraq, Syria, and Yemen». Moreover, IMF stressed in its outlook report that «social tensions are rising in the context of lower growth and reform fatigue, threatening macroeconomic stability» in the MENA region. It also pointed out that economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa has also been affected by «corruption, slow reforms, high levels of debt and continued oil price fluctuations».
