IT Specialists’ Departure Cost Belarusian Economy Dearly

IT and transport are pulling the economy down.

The economy of Belarus continues to fall, at the moment it has decreased by 2.1% compared to the same result last year. At the same time, growth drivers and the main “brakes” among industries have changed markedly in recent years, writes the Nashy Hroshy Telegram channel.

The decline in the economy in January-March 2023 was mainly influenced by four areas: construction, trade, transport and IT. Construction reduced GDP by 0.1%. This is certainly not much, but the negative against the background of the promised start of a new investment cycle looks strange. However, maybe this can be interpreted as an achievement - they say, earlier the fall could have been much more serious.

Trade reduced GDP by 0.4% compared to the same period in 2022. Transport dragged GDP down by 0.8%, which is not surprising given the closure of transport corridors in the western direction.

Finally, the IT sector has become the main anti-driver. With a general decline in the economy by 2.1% in the first quarter, this area is responsible for the fall by 1.3%. Apparently, the departure of IT specialists and the relocation of high-tech businesses from the country cost the Belarusian economy some serious price.

Against this negative background, industry (gives 0.4% of GDP growth) and agriculture (0.1%) are responsible for economic growth. This is still not enough to get out of the crisis.