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Portuguese-speaking countries all to grow in 2015: World Bank
Release time:2015-01-14
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The economies of Portuguese-speaking countries are all expected to grow this year, says a new report from the World Bank.

China is likely to see growth of 7.1 percent in 2015, down from 7.4 percent in 2014, predicts the World Bank Group’s ‘Global Economic Prospects’ document, released on Tuesday.

Mozambique will post the strongest growth among Portuguese-speaking countries in 2015, says the bank’s twice-yearly flagship publication. After economic expansion estimated at 7.2 percent in 2014, the southern African country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is forecast to grow by 8.0 percent this year.

The global economy is projected to increase by 3.0 percent this year, 3.3 percent in 2016 and 3.2 percent in 2017, predicts the Bank.

East Timor is also forecast to post strong growth in 2015. The country’s economy is expected to expand by 7.0 percent this year, a slight drop of 0.1 percentage points in comparison with the estimate for 2014.

Angola should grow by 5.3 percent in 2015. The country recorded an estimated GDP expansion of 4.4 percent last year, says the World Bank.

Guinea-Bissau, Cape-Verde and Brazil are expected to grow at rates below the world average in 2015.

Guinea-Bissau’s economy is projected to expand by 2.5 percent, 0.3 percentage points slower than GDP growth in Cape Verde, says the report.

Brazil’s economy is expected to expand 1.0 percent in 2015, after remaining almost flat (0.1 percent growth) last year.

The World Bank report does not provide a growth estimate for São Tomé e Principe owing to “data limitations”. But a previous report by African Development Bank, the OECD Development Centre and the United Nations Development Programme, forecast the country would grow by 5.6 percent in 2015.

The World Bank also did not provide a standalone estimate for Portugal – the country is part of the Euro Area, projected to expand by 1.1 percent this year. Portugal’s central bank expects GDP to increase by 1.5 percent in 2015.