Western Balkans Regular Economic Report No.25, Spring 2024: Invigorating Growth

Economic growth in the Western Balkans slowed to 2.6 percent in 2023, from the 3.4 percent reached in 2022, reflecting the impact of a weak European economy weighed down by sequential shocks. Overall, the WB6 region has experienced a rise in total hours worked driven by employment growth and labor force expansion, especially driven by women joining the labor force. Poverty in the Western Balkans returned to its declining trend during 2023, but at a slower pace than pre-pandemic. A robust fiscal performance and solid rate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth led to a fall in debt as a share of GDP. After increasing to levels not seen in several decades, inflation rates in the WB6 fell significantly during 2023. Growth projections for the medium term have increased slightly, reflecting cautious optimism that, having weathered a flurry of shocks over recent years, the Western Balkans is beginning to see a return to trend economic performance. However, while the WB6 region is expected to return on its pre-pandemic trend in 2024, this is insufficient to enable meaningful convergence with European Union (EU) income levels over the medium term. The spotlight in this edition of the Western Balkans Regular Economic Report focuses on the role of cities as engines of growth and leading actor in the green transition. This spotlight recommends action on three main fronts to make cities in the Western Balkans greener. First, it is crucial to reduce urban sprawl and make cities more compact. Second, cities must bring down their emissions, also because this will have immediate improvement on socio-economic and environmental outcomes. And third, cities must take actions to reduce extreme urban heat and enhance preparedness for it.