Zimbabwe’s economy is forecast to grow at a modest rate this year against a deteriorating global economic growth outlook, says the World Bank.

Indeed, World Bank Senior Economist for Zimbabwe, Stella Illieva, said the country’s economic growth is predicted to be around 3.6% this year, a minor rise from 3.4% registered in 2022.

Whilst speaking at the Economic and Business Outlook Symposium, organised by the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries, Illieva added that growth in the sub-Saharan Africa region is more positive than the global outlook. This is because global growth is forecast to slow down to 1.7% in 2023, a three-decade low, The Zimbabwe Mail reports.

Mounting geopolitical tensions, trade issues and climate change shocks will result in a considerable growth slowdown, the World Bank Senior Economist added.

Weakening economic activities within the global economy will impact emerging markets and developing countries, including Zimbabwe, she stated.

“Aggressive monetary policy tightening to contain high inflation, deteriorating financial conditions, and continued disruptions from the war in Ukraine are the drivers of this worsening economic performance on a global scale,” she said.

In addition, growth in South Africa, Zimbabwe’s principal trading partner, is predicted to soften further in 2023 to 1.4% before hitting 1.8% next year, Illieva continued.

She also said the weak growth in global markets would have an unfavourable impact on the prices of metals and other commodities, which Zimbabwe relies on.

“Prices of gold, tobacco, and platinum have been in decline since 2022; this trend is expected to continue this year, at least for gold and tobacco,” said Illieva.

At the presentation of this year’s national budget in November last year, Zimbabwe’s Finance and Economic Development Minister, Mthuli Ncube, forecast the economy to grow by 3.8% in 2023, fuelled by tight monetary and fiscal policy, promising international commodity prices and a good agricultural season, amongst other factors.