The analysis of the rating shows that Moldova falls short of the world average in terms of GDP growth, but at the same time it is ahead of many more developed countries.
According to IMF calculations, the entire world economy will grow by 3.1% this year, i.e. the growth forecast for Moldova is below average.
The leader of the rating is Guyana, where the GDP will increase by 23%. The economy of this country began to transform in 2015 with the discovery of an offshore oil field in the country’s territorial waters. The first shipment of oil was shipped in 2019 and since then, the country’s prosperity has been growing relentlessly. In 2025, the GDP has grown by 10.3%.
In second place is South Sudan. Despite the recent civil war there that killed over 400,000 people, made 4 million refugees, and inflation at over 300% per year, the economy is recovering rapidly and will climb 22.4% in 2026.
In third place is Guinea with a forecast of 10.5%. Its economy is based on mining, with the world’s largest reserves of bauxite (about 2/3 of the world’s reserves). The main export commodities are bauxite, alumina, gold and diamonds. Despite its natural wealth, the country remains one of the poorest, with a developing agriculture that employs the majority of the population and poor infrastructure. Therefore, the anticipated high growth this year is due to a “low start”.
The IMF does not have more double-digit forecasts.
In fourth place is Sudan at 9.5%. This is somewhat strange, since in this one of the world’s poorest countries, the economy contracted last year, inflation exceeded 100%, unemployment was 25-28%, and the main source of GDP is agriculture, giving 28%. However, Sudan remains a major producer of gold (3rd in Africa). After the secession of South Sudan in 2011, the country lost most of its oil fields, but remained an oil transit country.
Next in the ranking is a long list of countries with forecasts from 7.6 to 6.3%: Uganda, Rwanda, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Benin, Niger, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Tanzania.
It is worth noting Georgia with a forecast of 5.3% (26th place), Armenia (4.9%), Kazakhstan (4.8%) and Ukraine (4.5%, 47th place).
Also notable growth is expected in China – 4.2% (50th place).
In general, the economies of developed countries, including the USA (2.1%) and Germany (0.9%), are below Moldova in the IMF list.
The forecast for Romania is 1.4% (168th place in the ranking). Russia – 1% (180th place).
The list is closed by Puerto Rico (-0.1%), Haiti (-1.2%) and Venezuela (-3%).
