Country Reports
2024
June 4, 2024
Djibouti: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Djibouti
Description: Following years of high growth led by public investment, consecutive exogeneous shocks have weighed heavily on Djibouti’s economy and on its debt. Nonetheless, with the peace deal in Ethiopia, growth rebounded strongly in 2023. The normalization of the external environment together with Djibouti’s ongoing debt rescheduling discussions with main creditors are expected to reopen policy space, but restoring debt sustainability would require fully addressing the debt burden through a balanced mix of reforms, new concessional financing, and debt relief.
May 31, 2024
Gabon: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Gabon
Description: In August 2023, Gabon underwent a major political transition after a coup d’état had overthrown a decades-long regime. Despite multiple reform attempts, years of poorly managed oil wealth, weak inclusion, and stagnant incomes fragilized the political and socio-economic environment in the runup to the coup. The transition authorities now face a historic opportunity to pivot towards a more transparent and inclusive model of governance, but overcoming decades of entrenched institutional practice will require sustained reform efforts to achieve a point of no return. Meanwhile, the Fund-supported EFF program veered off-track soon after the completion of the first two reviews in 2022 and will expire soon.
May 31, 2024
Ecuador: Request for an Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Ecuador
Description: Following the completion of a 27-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement in December 2022, political uncertainty, a security crisis, and exogenous shocks to oil revenue and interest rates led to a sharp macroeconomic and fiscal deterioration. The authorities implemented swift and bold measures in early 2024 to address the fiscal and liquidity challenges and requested a 48-month EFF arrangement of SDR 3 billion (about US$4 billion, 430 percent of quota) to support their policy plans and advance an ambitious structural reform agenda.
May 30, 2024
People’s Republic of China—Macao Special Administrative Region: 2024 Article IV Consultation Discussions-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: Macao SAR’s growth is expected to remain strong in the near term despite the recent slowdown. Continued recovery of the gaming sector will shape Macao SAR’s near-term outlook. A stronger slump in the Mainland’s property sector and higher-for-longer interest rates in the major economies are the main short-term risks to the outlook. The secular growth slowdown in Mainland China could weigh on Macao SAR’s medium-term growth. Moreover, medium-term growth could be adversely affected by extreme climate events. The authorities have stepped up their efforts to diversify Macao SAR’s economy, which, if successful, could mitigate some of the risks to the medium-term growth.
May 30, 2024
People’s Republic of China—Macao Special Administrative Region: Selected Issues
Description: Selected Issues
May 28, 2024
Mauritius: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Mauritius
Description: Strong Recovery and Challenges. Mauritius has rebounded strongly from the pandemic on the back of buoyant tourism, social housing construction, and financial services. Supportive policies facilitated the strong recovery, but challenges remain for securing a sustainable and resilient economy: (i) fiscal and external buffers were eroded during the pandemic, and (ii) vulnerabilities to climate change and an ageing population loom over the medium- to long-term economic prospects.
May 28, 2024
Rwanda: Third Reviews under the Policy Coordination Instrument and the Arrangement under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility, and the First Review under the Standby Credit Facility Arrangement-Press Release; and Staff Report
Description: The Rwandan economy continues its robust growth, notwithstanding the challenging external environment, repeated shocks, and ongoing fiscal consolidation. Headline inflation decelerated sharply in recent months owing to appropriately tight monetary policy stance and favorable developments in food prices. However, contractionary effects of the ongoing fiscal consolidation are still expected to materialize, and risks remain tilted to the downside. Policies supported by the PCI/SCF provide a valuable anchor for efforts to safeguard macroeconomic and external stability, address the short-run balance of payments needs arising from climate-related shocks, advance developmental objectives, and improve resilience. The ownership on the climate agenda under the RSF remains strong, with efforts to accelerate development of a credible pipeline of green projects bringing first results.