SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's state-run think tank on Wednesday revised up this year's growth outlook for the Asian country, reflecting the improvement in both export and consumption.
Real gross domestic product (GDP), adjusted for inflation, was forecast to rise 1.9 percent in 2026, according to the Korea Development Institute (KDI).
It was up from a growth of 1.8 percent estimated three months earlier. The real GDP expanded 1.0 percent in 2025.
In terms of volume, export was expected to go up 2.1 percent this year, up from the previous outlook of 1.3 percent.
Private consumption was predicted to mount 1.7 percent this year after growing 1.3 percent last year.
Growth forecast for facility investment was revised up by 0.4 percentage points to 2.4 percent, but the outlook for construction investment was revised down by 1.7 percentage points to 0.5 percent.
Outlook for current account surplus was set at 148.8 billion U.S. dollars for 2026, while forecast for consumer price inflation was placed at 2.1 percent.
The number of jobs was expected to increase 170,000 in 2026. ■