Minsk’s economic growth slowed down in 2023 – official data

February 5, Pozirk. Minsk’s share of Belarusian gross domestic product (GDP) exceeded 30 percent in 2023 and amounted to 65.5 billion rubels, the National Statistics Committee (Biełstat) reports.

The city’s economy grew by paltry 0.9 percent year on year, lagging behind the Mahiloŭ region (1.6 percent), the Homiel region (2.9 percent), the Viciebsk region (3 percent) and the Brest region (3.4 percent).

The Minsk and Hrodna regions posted robust growth of 9.8 and 6.6 percent, respectively.

The Minsk region may have exhausted its potential in 2023, while Minsk, being a large city linked to the services sector and numerous foreign partners, can no longer be a driver, said experts from Košt Urada think tank.

Only improved international relations may help Minsk reconquer leading positions, experts believe. Its short-term growth prospects depend on being the largest and richest consumer market.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, most regions reached the upper limit of their economic growth and may slide to recession, Košt Urada said.

Macroeconomic imbalances would accumulate at the regional level if the government artificially maintains growth in 2024, harming the Belarusian economy even more, the experts warned.