January 2016
The conflict in Syria has completed its fifth year. The war and the external economic sanctions caused extensive damage to the economy. GDP which stood at US$ 60 billion in 2010 has shrunk by more than a half in real terms by the end of 2015, according to IMF estimates. Contraction was deepest in the first three years of the crisis, but began to decrease in 2014 and 2015, as business sectors in areas under government control started to adapt. Real GDP growth went down by 20.6% in 2013, by 18% in 2014 and by 15.8% in 2015, according to World Bank estimates. Fiscal deficit is estimated at 20% of GDP and current account deficit at 15% of GDP. Inflation is running at around 75%.
