South Sudan: IMF Predicts Dismal Economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a press release on 23 March 2017 titled "IMF Executive Board Concludes 2016 Article IV Consultation with the Republic of South Sudan."

The IMF said economic conditions have deteriorated rapidly since the beginning of the civil conflict in 2013. Real GDP growth declined by nearly 20 percent in the two years through 2015/16 and annual inflation rose to about 550 percent in September 2016 before declining to 370 percent in January 2017. Since December 2015, the South Sudanese pound has lost more than 95 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar. Without significant progress toward peace and economic stabilization, the economic trajectory for South Sudan is highly unstable, and the country risks falling into a spiraling trap of deteriorating economic performance and worsening security conditions with continued humanitarian costs.