Washington, DC:
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved today
a 40-month arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) equivalent
to SDR219.96 million (about US$312.4 million or 90 percent of quota) for
Madagascar.
The Board’s decision allows an immediate disbursement of SDR 48.88 million
(about US$69.4 million). The ECF arrangement follows the Fund’s emergency
support to Madagascar in April 2020 for SDR122.2 million (about US$165.99
million or 50 percent of quota), and in July 2020 for SDR122.2 million
(about US$171.9 million or 50 percent of quota). The arrangement is
expected to catalyze additional bilateral and multilateral financial
support.
The program design considers Madagascar’s fragilities, including its high
exposure to climate-related shocks, and will focus on mitigating the
economic impact of the pandemic, maintaining macroeconomic stability, and
reviving the reform momentum to raise and sustain growth and reduce
poverty. It aims to rebuild and further strengthen fiscal space to allow
for much needed investment and social spending through revenue mobilization
and improving quality of spending; resuming and advancing the structural
reform and anti-corruption efforts and governance agenda; and strengthening
the monetary policy framework and supporting financial stability, while
maintaining price stability with exchange rate flexibility. Capacity
development is crucial for the success of the program.
Following the Executive Board discussion, Ms. Antoinette Sayeh, Deputy
Managing Director and Acting Chair, made the following statement:
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a severe human and economic toll
on Madagascar, reversing recent social and economic progress, and creating
fiscal and external financing needs. The authorities’ program, which will
be supported by a new arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility, will
focus on supporting the economic recovery and implementing structural
reforms to increase sustainable and inclusive growth
that reduces poverty.
“The authorities are implementing measures to create fiscal space for much
needed social spending and investment. These include medium-term revenue
mobilization efforts and improving the quality of public spending.
“Given that Madagascar remains at a moderate risk of debt distress, the
authorities plan to follow a prudent debt management strategy that relies
on concessional financing for scaling-up investment and improving
investment management. They also envisage developing contingency plans and
mitigating fiscal risks, including addressing potential fuel
pricing-related liabilities and implementing the public utility JIRAMA’s
recovery plan with World Bank support. They have also developed a disaster
risk management strategy to assess and manage climate-related risks.
“The authorities have made progress towards COVID-19-related transparency
commitments, including publishing information on pandemic mitigation
spending and procurement contracts. They are working to further
strengthening budget transparency and to implement remaining transparency
commitments.
“To improve the business environment and attract much needed private
investment, the authorities are committed to fully implementing the
anti-corruption legal framework. They also plan to continue improving the
monetary policy framework, developing, and strengthening the financial
sector, and boosting financial inclusion.”
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Table 1. Selected Economic Indicators, 2019–23
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2019
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2020
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2021
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2022
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2023
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Est.
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Proj.
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National account and prices (percent change, unless
otherwise indicated)
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GDP at constant prices
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4.4
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-4.2
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3.2
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5.0
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5.4
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GDP deflator
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5.6
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4.2
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5.4
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5.7
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6.0
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Consumer prices (end of period)
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4.0
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4.6
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5.4
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6.0
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5.8
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Money and credit
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Broad money (M3)
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7.3
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12.1
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21.8
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10.4
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10.9
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(Growth in percent of beginning of period money stock (M3))
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Net foreign assets
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-2.6
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2.1
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2.2
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3.1
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5.4
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Net domestic assets
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9.9
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10.0
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19.6
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7.3
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5.5
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of which: Credit to the private sector
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10.3
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5.6
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8.0
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4.5
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4.9
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(percent of GDP)
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Public finance
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Total revenue (excluding grants)
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10.5
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9.2
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10.3
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11.4
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12.2
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of which: Tax revenue
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10.3
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8.9
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10.0
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11.1
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11.9
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Grants
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3.0
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1.8
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2.3
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1.8
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1.3
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of which: budget grants
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0.7
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0.8
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0.5
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0.3
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0.3
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Total expenditures
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14.9
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15.1
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18.3
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18.1
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17.8
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Current expenditure
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9.3
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9.5
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10.7
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9.5
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9.2
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Capital expenditure
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5.6
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5.6
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7.6
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8.6
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8.6
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Overall balance (commitment basis)
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-1.4
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-4.2
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-5.8
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-4.8
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-4.3
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Domestic primary balance
1
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0.3
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-2.6
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-2.5
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-0.4
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0.2
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Total financing
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1.3
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2.9
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6.6
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4.1
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3.9
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Foreign borrowing (net)
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1.2
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1.4
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3.6
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3.5
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3.3
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Domestic financing
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0.0
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1.5
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2.9
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0.6
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0.5
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Financing gap
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0.0
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0.0
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0.0
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-0.7
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-0.4
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Savings and investment
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Investment
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20.6
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15.1
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18.4
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20.6
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22.2
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Gross national savings
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19.8
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8.5
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13.4
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16.2
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17.8
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External sector
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Exports of goods, f.o.b.
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18.0
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14.0
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16.5
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18.0
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19.1
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Imports of goods, c.i.f.
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26.2
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22.8
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25.2
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26.2
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27.7
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Current account balance (exc. grants)
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-5.3
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-9.6
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-7.2
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-6.2
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-5.7
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Current account balance (inc. grants)
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-2.2
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-6.5
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-5.0
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-4.4
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-4.3
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Public debt
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37.8
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43.6
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46.9
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47.8
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48.6
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External Public Debt
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26.6
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32.0
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34.7
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36.1
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37.3
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Domestic Public Debt
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11.2
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11.6
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12.2
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11.7
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11.3
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(Units as indicated)
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Gross official reserves (millions of SDRs)
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1196
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1338
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1449
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1540
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1680
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Months of imports of goods and services
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4.2
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5.9
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5.4
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5.1
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5.0
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GDP per capita (U.S. dollars)
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540
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502
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521
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551
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582
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Sources: Malagasy authorities; and IMF staff estimates and
projections.
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1
Primary balance excl. foreign-financed investment and
grants. Commitment basis.
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