Less growth: World Bank updates Ukraine’s GDP forecast for 2026
8 October 17:12
Ukraine’s economic growth in 2026 will remain at the level of this year and amount to 2%, and its acceleration to 5% is now expected only in 2027. This is stated in the updated forecast of the World Bank, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Economic growth in Ukraine is projected to slow down. Ukraine’s economic growth is likely to slow to 2% in 2025 from 2.9% in 2024 as the ongoing Russian invasion affects investment and business activity,” the document says.
In June of this year, the World Bank expected the Ukrainian economy to accelerate next year to 5.2%, with a slowdown to 4.5% in 2027.
The report notes that Ukraine’s gas imports have reached their highest level in almost two years as infrastructure damage has limited domestic production. A decline in agricultural exports also slowed growth, affected by unfavorable weather conditions and the European Union’s reintroduction of the pre-invasion trade regime, which tightened restrictions on exports of Ukraine’s main agricultural commodities. Thus, during the first half of 2025, the value of exports decreased by almost 5% amid a decline in exports to the EU, which supplies almost 60% of Ukrainian products that go abroad.
