Country Reports
2025
July 15, 2025
The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia: Selected Issues
Description: 2025 Selected Issues
July 14, 2025
Iraq: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Informational Annex
Description: Iraq has managed to uphold domestic stability despite regional turmoil. However, rapid expansion of spending and emerging financing constraints led to arrears accumulation in 2024. These challenges are now compounded by declining oil prices in a highly uncertain global environment, further aggravating fiscal and external sustainability risks. At the same time, the country is struggling with lingering structural economic challenges, including high unemployment, excessive state footprint, a weak banking sector, corruption, and an inefficient electricity sector.
July 14, 2025
Republic of Estonia: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: The Estonian economy is slowly re-emerging from a prolonged downturn but faces structural challenges. Wages growing faster than productivity and permanent increases in input costs, a legacy of previous shocks, are hindering price-sensitive activities, while production with higher technological content is constrained by lack of skilled labor and limited access to capital markets. Geopolitical developments, rising defense spending needs, and preexisting fiscal imbalances pose significant hurdles.
July 14, 2025
France: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for France
Description: The French economy has demonstrated resilience in 2024 despite high uncertainty, bolstered by the summer Olympics in Paris. The disinflationary process is progressing well, and the labor market remains robust. However, high and rising public debt, combined with significant domestic and external headwinds to the recovery, highlights the urgent need to strengthen public finances and pursue structural reforms to foster sustainable growth. While the political compromise on the 2025 budget reached in February marked a positive step forward, it will be essential for the authorities to continue building consensus to further advance fiscal and structural reforms.
July 14, 2025
France: Financial System Stability Assessment
Description: The French financial system has proven resilient to the shocks of the last five years but faces headwinds from domestic and external policy uncertainty and high fiscal consolidation needs. Bank-insurance conglomerates that include four Global Systemically Important Banks dominate the financial landscape, and financial markets have become increasingly complex in the post-Brexit environment. Banks’ capital and liquidity buffers remain high, but with low profitability versus peers.
July 14, 2025
Benin: Sixth Reviews Under the Extended Fund Facility and the Extended Credit Facility Arrangements, and Third Review Under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility Arrangement-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Benin
Description: Benin’s strong institutional foundation and economic reform drive, combined with sound macroeconomic management, has generated tangible dividends. Economic activity accelerated over the past five years—and markedly in 2024—with promising signs of economic transformation and less volatile income growth. Fiscal consolidation in 2024 supported Benin’s convergence to the WAEMU deficit norm of 3 percent of GDP one year in advance—one of only two countries to do so in the WAEMU. The 2025 budget will therefore target a minor adjustment to remain in compliance with the WAEMU deficit norm. The strong reform drive has sustained development partners’ engagement and reaffirmed international investors’ confidence: budget support continues to consistently exceed expectations, while access to international markets is marked by successful issuances. Going forward, Benin will need to manage sociopolitical and security challenges, while maintaining the reform and tax collection momentum and strengthening inclusive policies to entrench the ongoing economic transformation.
July 11, 2025
Euro Area Policies: 2025 Annual Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Member Countries
Description: Despite recurring shocks, Europe’s economy remains resilient with record-low unemployment, declining inflation, and a stable financial system. However, policymakers face mounting challenges, including trade tensions, rising demand for defense spending, and the need to ensure energy security, all while addressing longstanding productivity challenges, rapid aging, and weak medium-term growth.
July 11, 2025
Togo: Second Review Under the Arrangement Under the Extended Credit Facility, Requests for Waiver of Nonobservance of a Performance Criterion, Modification of Performance Criteria, Extension of the Arrangement, and Rephasing of Access-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Togo
Description: Following the shocks of recent years starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, fiscal expansion helped preserve robust growth but also pushed up Togo’s public debt and contributed to a temporary drawdown of foreign exchange reserves in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), while progress on the sustainable development goals has slowed.