World Bank predicts positive growth of Ukraine's GDP in 2023 amid war

The World Bank expects that Ukraine's GDP growth in 2023 will reach 0.5% after a sharp drop to almost -30% last year after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

This is stated in the conclusions of the World Bank’s economic review, published on Thursday, Ukrinform reports.

"Ukraine’s economy is projected to grow by 0.5% this year, following a staggering contraction of 29.2% in 2022, the year of Russia’s invasion of the country," the outlook states.

Despite the “enormous” economic losses Ukraine sustained as a result of the invasion, the reopening of Black Sea ports and the resumption of grain trade, as well as significant donor support, "are helping support economic activity this year."

According to the latest estimates, the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine has now risen to $411 billion, which is more than double the size of Ukraine's pre-war economy in 2021.

As reported, according to the NBU, the international reserves of Ukraine as of early April increased to $31.9 billion, which is a record high for the Ukrainian economy over the past 11 years.