World Bank: Jordan's Economy Gradually Recovers Despite Regional War

SadaNews - The World Bank has predicted that the Jordanian economy will continue its gradual recovery in the coming years, reaching a growth rate of 3% by 2028, despite the economic repercussions of the conflicts in the Middle East, rising energy prices, shipping costs, and inflation both regionally and globally.

According to the "Global Economic Prospects" report published by the World Bank, the Jordanian economy is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2026 compared to an anticipated 2.8% growth in 2025, before rising to 2.9% in 2027 and reaching 3% in 2028, maintaining an upward growth trajectory. This comes at a time when the Middle East and North Africa, along with Afghanistan and Pakistan, are experiencing a sharp slowdown in growth to 1.6% in 2026 due to the repercussions of regional conflict, according to the kingdom.

The report indicated that the conflict in the Middle East has cast a shadow over regional economies due to declining economic activity, rising energy prices, shipping costs, and increased inflationary pressures, alongside ongoing uncertainties related to geopolitical developments.

It clarified that Jordan has been affected by high energy prices, shipping and transport disruptions, and weakened remittances, which have reflected on the pace of economic growth in 2026.

The report also forecasts a slight widening of the current account deficit due to rising import prices, while it is likely that increased fertilizer prices will help mitigate some of this pressure through higher revenues from Jordanian exports.

According to World Bank data, the growth of the Jordanian economy reached 3.1% in 2023 before declining to 2.6% in 2024, with an expected increase to 2.8% during 2025.

At the regional level, the World Bank projects that growth in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan will decrease to 1.6% in 2026 compared to 4% in 2025, before recovering to 5% in 2027, assuming a reduction in disruptions related to conflict.

Globally, the report anticipates a slowdown in global growth to 2.5% in 2026 compared to 2.9% in 2025, approaching its weakest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, amid rising energy prices, continuing inflationary pressures, and increasing borrowing costs.

The World Bank also expects the average price of Brent crude to reach $94 per barrel during 2026, an increase of 36% from 2025 levels, which will reflect on global inflation rates, expected to rise to 4% compared to 3.3% in the previous year.

The report warns that continued energy disruptions and worsening conflict repercussions could push global growth down to only 1.3% in 2026, with inflation rising to 4.4%.