MOSCOW, April 14. /TASS/. Russia’s Economic Development Ministry projects GDP growth rate at 1.2% this year, Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said at a joint meeting of the collegiums of the Finance Ministry and the Economic Development Ministry on Friday.

"Economy continues recovering. We project GDP growth rate this year at 1.2%, whereas by 2026 it will accelerate to almost 3%, mainly due to consumer demand recovery," he said.

GDP growth for 2024 is projected at 2%, according to key parameters of scenario conditions for 2024-2026 prepared by the ministry.

According to figures provided by the national statistics service, Russia’s GDP contraction totaled 2.1% in 2022. Earlier, GDP contraction in Russia was expected at 0.8% this year, according to the Economic Development Ministry’s official forecast.