Country Reports
2024
July 24, 2024
Republic of Lithuania: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: Lithuania has experienced fast income convergence over the past two decades and the economy is projected to return to growth this year after a shallow recession. However, higher inflation differentials following the shock triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have had an impact on competitiveness, even though Lithuania entered this crisis with an undervalued real effective exchange rate. At the same time, global fragmentation, long-term spending pressures, eroded corporate profitability, and pre-existing structural challenges in education, healthcare and the labor market continue weighing on productivity and growth. Thus, Lithuania needs prudent policies and decisive structural reforms to support sustained productivity growth and ensure higher living standards and continued convergence.
July 24, 2024
Niger: Fourth and Fifth Reviews under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, Modification of Performance Criteria, and Extension and Rephasing of Arrangement, and First Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility Arrangement, and Request for Extension and Rephasing of the Arrangement-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Niger
Description: Political instability and sanctions following the military takeover last July have severely and persistently affected economic and social conditions. The security situation continues to exacerbate the country's fragility. While working on a new development strategy, the authorities have declared their firm commitment to the objectives of the ECF and RSF-supported programs. After the lifting of sanctions in February 2024, the authorities have resumed full collaboration with WAEMU institutions, despite exiting ECOWAS in late January 2024 (along with Burkina Faso and Mali).
July 24, 2024
Republic of Equatorial Guinea: Staff-Monitored Program-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: A decade of steady decline in hydrocarbon production has put Equatorial Guinea's fiscal and external accounts under strain and brought the need for economic diversification to the fore. An Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement (approved in 2019) expired in December 2022 without the completion of a single review.
July 23, 2024
Italy: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Italy
Description: Activity expanded by nearly 1 percent in 2023, with GDP surpassing its pre-pandemic level by 4½ percent. Headline inflation fell on the drop in energy prices, with core inflation also moderating. Employment rose alongside real activity. Financial conditions have eased somewhat but remain tight. Despite fiscal deficits much larger than pre-COVID, the public debt ratio declined on deferred recording of tax credits and strong nominal GDP growth. Sovereign debt risks are moderate overall, but high at the medium- and long-horizons. Low fertility and low female labor force participation foreshadow faster population and work force declines amid weak productivity growth.
July 22, 2024
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release and Staff Report
Description: St. Vincent and the Grenadines has achieved a robust recovery from the pandemic and 2021 volcanic eruptions, supported by large-scale investment projects and robust growth in tourism. Growth is projected at 4.9 percent in 2024, with economic activity surpassing the pre-pandemic trend forecast. Employment has returned to the pre-pandemic level except for young men, and female labor force participation remains relatively low. Inflation has subsided from its peak. The financial system remains sound. The outlook is favorable but is subject to downside risks mainly stemming from the uncertain external environment. In addition, the economy is facing significant challenges from a rapidly ageing population and natural disasters and climate change, amid the still high public debt. Recognizing the challenges, the authorities are implementing a broad array of reforms in line with past Fund advice.
July 22, 2024
Cameroon: Sixth Reviews Under the Extended Credit Facility and the Extended Fund Facility Arrangements, First Review under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility Arrangement, and Requests for Waivers of Applicability of Performance Criteria, Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, and Modification of Performance Criteria and a Reform Measure
Description: Economic recovery has continued in the face of successive external shocks. While global headwinds are moderating, domestic and regional risks may intensify with persisting security challenges and possible social tensions around Presidential elections expected in late 2025. Completion of the sixth reviews under the ECF and EFF arrangements will allow a disbursement of SDR 55.2 million (about US$73.8 million), and completion of the first review under the RSF arrangement will allow a disbursement of SDR 34.5 million (about US$46.1 million).
July 22, 2024
Republic of Mozambique: Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy
Description: The National Development Strategy (NDS) has been revised for the 2025-2044 period to guide the country's new priorities and challenges, in response to changes in the legal, conjunctural and structural context of the economy, planning and international commitments.
July 19, 2024
Panama: Financial Sector Assessment Program - Technical Note on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)
Description: Panama has struggled to bring its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime in line with international standards, resulting in periods of being “grey listed” by the international standard-setter, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Panama’s AML/CFT regime was last assessed against the FATF standards in 2017. Panama’s mutual evaluation identified strategic deficiencies within the country’s AML/CFT regime, notably in preventing the misuse of legal persons and arrangements for money laundering purposes. As a result, Panama was grey listed by the FATF in June 2019, where it remained until October 2023, beyond the expiration of its action plan deadlines in January 2021 and following increased pressure from the FATF. Having demonstrated completion of all items of its action plan, confirmed through an onsite visit that took place in September 2023, the country exited the grey list at the FATF October 2023 Plenary.