WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ukraine’s economy is expected to contract by 10% in 2022 as a result of Russia’s invasion, but the outlook could worsen sharply if the conflict lasts longer, the International Monetary Fund said in a staff report released on Monday.
The report, prepared ahead of the IMF’s approval of $1.4 billion in emergency financing, said Ukraine’s economic output could shrink by 25% to 35%, based on real wartime gross domestic product data from Iraq, Lebanon and other countries at war.
The report said Ukraine has an external financing gap of $4.8 billion, but its financing needs were expected to grow and it would require significant additional concessional financing.
The country’s public debt was expected to spike to 60% of GDP in 2022 from around 50% in 2021, the report said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Paul SImao)
