In the North and Central Asia subregion – which includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – the COVID-19 pandemic and its cascading social and economic impacts have mapped onto pre-existing conditions. Economies in the subregion had gradually recovered from the oil price crisis, however, Governments had varying degrees of fiscal space to implement emergency support and protection measures for households and businesses as the pandemic’s impacts unfolded. On the positive side, the subregion has displayed a degree of resilience, building on its comparatively good foundation in providing social protection and basic public services, including health services, though large intraregional differences remain.
