IMF Country Focus

• Angola: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Oil Price Shock

  September 21, 2020

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic and the shock from the falling price of oil have put severe pressure on Angola since the country’s second review under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) in December 2019.

• Lack of Human Capital is Holding Back Latin America’s Growth

  August 13, 2020

  

  In 1990, Latin America’s average GDP per capita was a little over a quarter of the United States’ income level, while emerging and developing Asian countries’ GDP per capita was only 5 percent. In 2019, Asian countries had grown fourfold, but Latin America was still at the same level.

• Rwanda Harnesses Technology to Fight COVID-19, Drive Recovery

  August 6, 2020

  

  In a conversation with IMF Country Focus, Rwanda’s Minister of State in Charge of National Treasury Richard Tusabe explains how his government is leveraging technology and grass-roots networks to fight the spread of COVID-19 and ensure financial support for households and businesses.

• South Africa Looks Toward Inclusive Recovery to Stabilize Debt, Boost Growth

  August 3, 2020

  

  In a conversation with IMF Country Focus, the Director-General of South Africa’s National Treasury Dondo Mogajane explains how the government has responded to the COVID-19 crisis, how IMF financing will help to stabilize the economy, and strategies for addressing debt and spurring growth.

• Inside Jordan’s Fight to Tackle COVID-19

  July 20, 2020

  

  In a conversation with IMF Country Focus, Jordan’s Minister of Finance Mohamad Al-Ississ digs deeper into the economic impact of COVID-19 on his country, policies they’ve pursued to limit the fallout and protect the vulnerable, and how rapid IMF financing has softened the blow of the pandemic and allowed the government to invest in critical areas during the crisis.

• Five Charts That Illustrate COVID-19’s Impact on the Middle East and Central Asia

  July 16, 2020

  

  The Middle East and Central Asia countries acted quickly and decisively in response to COVID-19. Despite their efforts, the pandemic has inflicted heavy economic damage on the region. Growth projections have been revised down since the April 2020 Regional Economic Outlook, the IMF says in its latest update to the report.

• Egypt Takes Proactive Approach to Limit the Pandemic’s Fallout

  July 9, 2020

  

  As part of Egypt’s two-step request for IMF financing to respond to COVID-19, $5.2 billion was approved under the 12-month Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).  Financing under the SBA follows the $2.8 billion approved in May under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument. 

• Six Charts on Myanmar's Economy in the Time of COVID-19

  July 7, 2020

  

  A frontier economy, Myanmar experienced rapid growth as it opened up in the 2000s, with GDP growth rates among the highest in Asia. However, growth had already been slowing when the coronavirus shock hit in early 2020.

• Paraguay Beats the Pandemic and Seeks New Growth

  July 2, 2020

  

  Paraguay acted forcefully against COVID-19 and succeeded in containing the pandemic with very few cases and casualties. But the economic impact has been harsh: GDP is forecast to shrink 5 percent this year. As it seeks to revive growth, the country is also undertaking reforms to improve governance and business climate. 

• Combating the Impact of COVID-19 in Montenegro

  July 2, 2020

  

  Like many tourism-dependent countries, Montenegro has been hit hard from the effects of COVID-19. On June 24, 2020, the Balkan country received an emergency loan worth $83.7 million under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument to help its economy weather the economic disruption caused by the collapse of tourism and to support higher health spending.

You Might Also Like

• IMF Blogs
• IMF Podcasts
• Finance and Development
• Regional Economic Outlook