It also reflects its
changing growth patterns involving moving away from
an export-oriented and investment-driven path to
a more balanced growth based on higher domestic
demand and consumption. Growth in India was cut by
more than half in 2012 (3.8 per cent) while growth in
newly industrialized economies such as the Republic
of Korea also decelerated, owing to a large extent
to a reduced European demand for these countries’
exports. In Western Asia, robust growth experienced
in most oil-exporting countries was matched with
weakened economic activity in oil-importing countries.
Social unrest and political instability, notably in the
Syrian Arab Republic, remain major concerns for the
entire region and its economic growth prospects.