Egyptian Economic Growth to Slow ‘Significantly’ After Uprising, IMF Says - Bloomberg

Economic growth in Egypt will slow “significantly” and political unrest spreading across the Middle East and North Africa will hurt other economies in the region this year, the International Monetary Fund said.

Egypt’s gross domestic product will expand about 1 percent, the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report released today, cutting the forecast from 5 percent after the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February. The economy of Tunisia, where Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was driven from office a month earlier, will grow 1.3 percent this year, the IMF said. Average growth across the region is projected at 4.1 percent.

“Political discontent, high unemployment, and rising food prices are causing social unrest in a number of countries, which is likely to dampen their short-term growth,” the fund said. “Spreading social unrest, rising sovereign risk premiums, and elevated commodity import prices will constrain growth prospects in several MENA economies.”