MINSK, 19 February (BelTA) – The Belarusian economy has showed growth above the global average for the second straight year (in 2023 and 2024), Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said during a meeting of the Council of Ministers to discuss the country’s performance in 2024 in Minsk on 19 February, BelTA learned.
“For the second year in a row, the economy has showed growth above the target and global average. The gross domestic product for 2024 expanded by 4% , above the target of 3.8%. The main drivers were industry, construction, trade and transportation. The systemic decisions taken to ensure sustainable operation of industries provided an opportunity to achieve positive financial results. The net profit amounted to over Br16 billion, up by 8.8% over 2023. The number of loss-making organizations decreased to the minimum for the last 10 years,” Roman Golovchenko said.
He stressed that in 2024 the government solved the most important tasks set by the head of state and spelled out in the program of social and economic development. "Welfare of our citizens improved. The real income of the population (adjusted for inflation) grew by 9.7% (against the target of 3.5%). Wages were growing steadily during the year. In December wages averaged almost Br2,700. Pensions increased by 9.7% in real terms. As in previous years, we provided support to public sector employees and low-wage workers. We made specific decisions to introduce additional payments to teachers, doctors, and social workers. Over Br1.7 billion was allocated for these purposes last year," the prime minister said.
Macroeconomic stability remains stable. Gold and foreign exchange reserves increased by almost $800 million over the year to amount to almost $9 billion on 1 January. The economy attracted $1.7 billion of net FDI, up 3.5% compared to 2023. More than 70% of the total investment was invested in the real sector.
“The foreign exchange market is balanced. The population keeps selling foreign currency, shows growing confidence in the national currency. Since the beginning of the year, time deposits in Belarusian rubles have grown by almost Br3 billion, or 35%. Inflation in 2024 was at a record low level - 5.2%, while the target was no more than 6%,” the Belarusian head of government said.
Last year, Belarus continued to actively invest in infrastructure in the regions. A total of Br6.6 billion was allocated for these purposes, including by individual decisions of the head of state.
“Speaking in general, based on these figures, the situation in the economy is stable and manageable. The only indicator in which we have failed to reach the target is exports. Despite the fact that the volume of shipments increased by $1.7 billion, or 3.5%, it is still lower than the target. As you remember, the target was 7.6%. Market factors undoubtedly had their influence. The work on diversification of export supplies cannot be called sufficient, either, despite the fact that a record-high amount of supplies to African countries was achieved with a 3.3-fold growth,” Roman Golovchenko emphasized.
As for the regions, they worked quite well, the prime minister said. “All regions have met the targets for nominal wages, total budget revenues and the production of import-substituting goods. I would like to emphasize the positive results achieved by the leadership of Vitebsk Oblast. According to the integral indicator of efficiency, the region has come in a second place, yielding only 0.1% to the leader of the rating Minsk,” the prime minister said.
