Russian economy outperforming European peers – prime minister

The Russian economy appears to have performed even better than previously expected in 2023 as growth is now projected to reach up to 4%, outpacing European peers and exceeding the global average, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin stated on Friday.   

Preliminary estimates show that Russian GDP growth for 2023 could come in at 3.5% or even 4%, despite the pressure from Western sanctions, Mishustin said.  

“This is higher than the average for the world, developed countries and Europe, based on World Bank data published in January,” the prime minister declared at a plenary session of the Digital Almaty 2024 forum in Kazakhstan.  

Mishustin earlier said that Russia had managed to steer its economy toward sustainable growth as every industrial sector showed positive dynamics over the past year.   

The GDP projection voiced by the prime minister is above the latest forecast by the Russian central bank, which last month stated its expectation that the economy grew by around 2.7% in 2023, driven by strong domestic demand. 

Earlier this week, the IMF significantly raised its growth forecast for the Russian economy in 2024. It now expects growth of 2.6% this year, a sharp increase from its October forecast of a 1.1% gain.

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