World bank: Lithuanian economy will grow

Posted by editor on 4/03/10 • Categorized as Baltic States, Business, Economy Watch, Finance • Print This Post •

Lithuania’s economy will grow 1.6 percent this year, the World Bank has predicted in a report.

The figures which are based on the national government’s figures show that Lithuania will come out of the recession and grow at the same rate as the European Union on average.

Latvia and Estonia are both expected to see declines in their economy this year. Latvia is expected to shrink 4 percent and Estonia by 0.1 percent.

The report on 10 of the EU’s new members showed that Poland would do best this year in economic growth. It is expected to grow 3 percent this year.

Unemployment will continue to be a problem for Lithuania. At the end of 2009, unemployment sat at 13.4 percent, the worst figure in the last five years, according to Lithuanian Statistics.

The World Bank expects unemployment in the country to hit 17 percent this year, one of the worst in the report. Latvia has a worse prognosis still with 20 percent unemployed predicted.

The country’s budget deficit will still be quite large, sitting at 8.1 percent of GDP.