IMF Says Iraq’s Growth Will Surge in 2008 as Security Improves

Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) — The International Monetary Fund predicted economic growth in Iraq will accelerate this year to the fastest pace since 2004 as security improves and crude oil output climbs.

Iraq’s economy will expand 7.1 percent this year, surging from a 1.3 percent pace in 2007, the fund forecast in a report released in Washington today. Growth will pick up to a 10.4 percent rate by 2010, the IMF said.


“Progress has been very impressive especially in light of the difficult security situation,” Erik De Vrijer, mission chief for Iraq, told reporters in a conference call. “This is all conditional on expanding oil production and seeing a continued improvement in security.”

The IMF report shows the jump in oil prices to a record is helping stoke growth in a nation scarred by rising poverty and the effects of a continuing war.

Bloomberg