Public debt rapidly increases in Arab countries: IMF warns
Tehran (KNA) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned of a “challenging” economic path that lies ahead of the Arab countries since their public debt has rapidly increased due to their high budget deficits.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Saturday public debt among Arab oil exporter countries had increased from 64 percent to 85 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since 2008.
"Unfortunately, the region has yet to fully recover from the global financial crisis and other big economic dislocations over the past decade," she told the Arab Fiscal Forum in Dubai.
"Among oil importers, (economic) growth has picked up, but it is still below pre-crisis levels," she added.
Public debt among Arab oil exporters rose from 13 percent of GDP to 33 percent of GDP, accelerated by the crash in oil prices around five years ago, she said.
Source: PressTV