The International Monetary Fund expects Bulgaria’s GDP growth to slow to 1.7% in 2023 from 3.4% last year, before accelerating to 3.2% in 2024.

The fund’s autumn forecast is better than the spring report, according to which Bulgaria’s GDP was expected to grow this year by 1.4%. In the spring, however, the IMF expected the Bulgarian economy to grow by 3.5% in the coming year.

The Washington-based international lender also expects an average annual growth of the Bulgarian economy of 2.8% by 2028.

According to the fund, annual inflation in the country will slow down from 13% in 2022 to 8.5% this year and then to 3% in 2024.