On Friday, Russia’s federal statistics agency raised its forecast for economic growth in 2021 from 4.7% to 5.6%, noting that the nation recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic’s first year more quickly than initially anticipated.
The new figures, according to the Rosstat statistics office, were based on a more comprehensive set of data on business performance, balance of payments information, and government accounts.
Given that the Russian economy has entered a recession as a result of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine and the imposition of broad Western sanctions, that is probably the best annual performance in a while.
Independent analysts predict that the absence of vital energy exports to Europe and access to Western technology and finance will cause the nation’s economy to suffer for years.
President Vladimir Putin predicted that this year’s economic contraction would be less than 2.5%, but the official forecast from the economy ministry predicts a 2.9% contraction.
Some analysts had predicted that Russia’s GDP would decline by double digits in 2022 after Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in February.
According to Rosstat, the third quarter of 2022 saw the economy contract 3.7% year over year, which is the same as the previous estimate.
The government had projected 3% annual growth in 2022 when the year began.
