Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) project the country’s economic recovery trajectory will maintain traction in 2023, despite negative global impact.
The Maldives central bank report’s the country’s domestic economy will grow by 12.3% by 2022 end. Domestic economy will reach pre-pandemic levels of output by the end of the current year.
This growth comes from strong performance of tourism sector, with tourist bed nights registering 33% growth in first three quarters of 2022. The sector’s growth expects further growth in 2023. The country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 7.6% is greater than the average growth rates registered by domestic economy before Covid-19 pandemic.
Projections for 2022 (remainder)
- Current account deficit for the year expects widening to 18% of GDP in 2022 from 8% in 2021
- With global commodity price hike, specifically of oil, total expenditure on merchandize imports likely to bump to USD3.2 billion in 2022 (from USD2.4 billion in 2021)
Projections for 2023
- Current account deficit expect exceeding overall financial account position during 2022
- Overall balance of payment likely to record a deficit of USD167.4 million
- Gross International Reserves (GIR) expect a decline to USD638.4 million in 2022 (from USD805.8 million in 2021)
- Current account deficit expected to narrow to 15% in GDP by end of 2023
- Current account deficit projected to be financed by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows, borrowings by government and private sector
- Domestic inflation rate moderated slightly from 2.9% in Q2-2022 to 2.7% in Q3-2022
- Domestic inflation rate expect to remain high in 2022 and average at 2.2%, while it expect significant acceleration to 5.4% in 2023