Armenia’s GDP expected to contract by 4.0% in 2020 – Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank forecasts that this year Armenia’s GDP will decline by 4%, a further drop from the -3.5% that was projected in April 2020, the ADB Armenia Mission told Armenpress.

The ADB said the GDP growth is expected to pick up to 3.5% in 2021.

The statement says: “Economies across developing Asia will contract this year for the first time in nearly six decades but recovery will resume next year, as the region starts to emerge from the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 Update forecasts -0.7% gross domestic product (GDP) growth for developing Asia this year—marking its first negative economic growth since the early 1960s. Growth will rally to 6.8% in 2021, in part because growth will be measured relative to a weak 2020. This will still leave next year’s output below pre-COVID-19 projections, suggesting an “L”-shaped rather than a “V”-shaped recovery. About three-quarters of the region’s economies are expected to post negative growth in 2020.

The ADO 2020 Update has lowered its GDP gr...