tania August 24, 2026 9:43 Belarus's economic growth: acceleration to 2.1% in January-July

In January-July 2026, Belarus's economic growth amounted to 2.1% year on year, after 1.5% in January-June. First of all, analysts at the Eurasian Development Bank explained the reasons for such a jump. Thus, the main factor behind the acceleration was agriculture.

Economic growth: drivers and sectors

Agricultural output grew by 12.9% year on year after 4.7% in the first half of the year. Consequently, this was driven by an earlier harvest. In addition, industrial output increased by 0.1% after a decline of 0.7%. At the same time, this was due to strong domestic consumer and investment activity, as well as expanding demand for fuel in Russia.

Retail trade turnover grew by 8.1% year on year, and investments by 4% in January-July. Moreover, the value added of the "Information and communication" sector grew by 4.9% amid an increase in orders.

Construction recovery

At the same time, construction continues to recover. Abnormally low temperatures in winter hurt the figures. However, now the volume of contract work grew by 2.3% year on year in January-July.

Analysts believe that in the absence of new shocks, Belarus's economic growth could exceed the EDB forecast (+1.3%) and amount to more than 2% by the end of 2026.