Ukraine edged out of recession last quarter with 0.7 percent growth, official statistics showed Monday, as authorities eye the start of a lengthy path to recovery after a devastating economic collapse sparked by conflict. The Ukrainian economy is barely breathing after recession turned into financial collapse as a bloody armed conflict with pro-Russian insurgents wrecked the country's industrial east.
The annual drop in GDP was seven percent in the third quarter from 14.7 percent in the second quarter, statistics showed. The World Bank said in October it expects a slight uptick in the country's economy by the end of the year and an expected GDP growth of around 1.0 percent in 2016. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast the crisis hit nation's economy will decline by 11 percent overall in 2015 after a fall of 6.8 percent in 2014. The IMF then predicts 2.0 percent growth in 2016.