Kabul: The World Bank’s latest Afghanistan development update shows that the country has registered 2.4 per cent of economic growth in 2018, with substantial downside risks arising from the prospects of political instability, it was announced here on Tuesday.
“At the current juncture, the most important priority for the government and its international partners is to maintain public confidence to support growth and job creation,” the Word Bank statement quoted Shubham Chaudhuri, the Bank’s Country Director for Afghanistan as saying.
“More than half of Afghans still live in poverty,” said the statement cited by Xinhua news agency.
Afghanistan had registered 2.7 per cent of economic growth in 2017. The decline of 0.3 per cent of growth according to Word Bank was the result of concerns of upcoming elections-related violence, declining business confidence, worsening drought conditions and apparent slowing of economic activity.
“Growth is expected to reach 2.8 per cent in 2019 before accelerating gradually to 3.6 per cent in 2021,” the statement added.
—IANS